


Moonlight

by JBankai89



Series: Lunaticus [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Moving On, Romance, Werewolf Culture, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-23 12:29:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13787805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBankai89/pseuds/JBankai89
Summary: Ulrich Rahn, beta of the pack of Fenrir Greyback, has come to the conclusion that he is destined to grow old alone after Harry, whom he loved dearly, leaves him for Remus. Ulrich believes he is content to stay alone, but after Charlie Weasley approaches him at Ron and Hermione's wedding, he begins to question whether or not staying alone out of fear is really the good idea he believes it to be, and whether or not the starry-eyed ginger is wholly prepared to enter a relationship with a werewolf.





	1. Part I: Approach

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a companion piece to the fics, Half Moon, Moonstruck, and New Moon Rising, and contains spoilers to NMR. If you have not read those fics, go back and start there. This can be read as a standalone piece, but certain parts won't make tons of sense if you haven't read the other fics in this series first. 
> 
> I had intended to make this only a oneshot, but the story kind of got away from me. Please enjoy!

Moonlight

 

Part I: Approach

 

Ulrich smiled to himself, his eyes following the small sub as he twirled around the dance floor with his mate. It was painful to watch; it had been barely five months since he'd let Harry go, after all, and the envious twinge he felt towards Remus had yet to completely fade.

“Still miss him, eh?” a gruff voice said, and Ulrich turned to see Silas smiling at him, a note of sympathy in his gaze.

“I was completely in love with him,” Ulrich replied in a simple, matter-of-fact tone, “it'll take more than a handful of months to get over him and actually move on.”

“Can't exactly blame you on that one,” Silas responded, and Ulrich's lip curled a little when he caught sight of Silas watching Harry with a distinct look of hunger in his eyes. “He's _quite_ the catch. I still can't believe he'd choose that decrepit _thing_ over one of us.”

“They've got history,” Ulrich said stiffly, and frowned at his fellow dominant, “and they're just made for each other. Harry's attitude completely switched the second he got back with Remus. I couldn't compete with that—no one can.”

“Bet _I_ could,” Silas grumbled. “Stubborn little thing never even gave me a chance—”

“—leave them alone,” Jade cut in sharply, and she glared at Silas. “Those two have been through _more_ than enough without you throwing a wrench into their relationship. I mean it, Silas, one wrong move and I'll turn your _outie_ into an _innie_.”

“Jade, there's no need to go that far—” Silas protested, but when her glare did not lift, he snapped his mouth shut and nodded, looking appropriately like a pup who had been scolded.

“So, think think means that Hermione will finally turn her mate?” Leticia asked conversationally, her eyes following the female dominant with her human, both of whom appeared ignorant to the sub's staring.

“Hard to say,” Wu-Fei replied, “he comes from a pureblood family, so it's probably still a bit scary for him. I mean, did you _see_ his mother fussing over Alpha accepting him?”

“Chances are, they failed to mention that ritual to her, which probably added to the strong reaction,” Ulrich said as his eyes shifted over to the portly but kind-faced Molly Weasley. “When I first met her with Harry, she didn't even bat an eyelash at the fact that we were werewolves. She just...accepted us. Her son, Bill, was also hurt by Alpha during the war and so has some werewolf traits, it's nothing new to her.”

“So...do you think she'd protest to _more_ werewolves stealing her children away?” Jade asked suddenly, a strange, amused lilt in her voice.

“Why?” Wu-Fei asked, a note of confusion in his voice, “did you have your eye on one of her children?”

“Wizard!” Silas hissed before Jade could answer, and Ulrich glanced up to see one of the Weasley children approaching. He recognized him as the one who had drunkenly chatted him up the first time he'd met them, but offhand couldn't remember his name. This time at least, he seemed a little more clearheaded as he moved towards the werewolves, his gait shifting erratically between a purposeful stride and a nervous stumble, as though he had no idea how to conduct himself in front of the pack.

Silas and Wu-Fei moved to shield the subs at the table from view, but Ulrich did not move as he watched the human approach. Despite his strange movements, his confident smile did not waver, and Ulrich narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What did he want?

“Hi again,” the ginger said as he slowed to a stop right in front of the beta.

“Er...hello,” Ulrich replied awkwardly.

“So, I saw you catch the bouquet,” he said as he motioned towards it, “and if Hermione's muggle tradition is right, that means you're next to be married.”

“I suppose,” Ulrich said as he shrugged. He now had a feeling that he knew where this was going, but he wasn't certain how he felt about it. Maintaining the nonchalant tone felt safer than jumping to any sort of conclusion, and to his tone of voice, the ginger cracked a small smile.

“Well, I'm not planning on proposing, so you can stop looking at me like that,” he said with a good-natured sort of laugh, and extended a hand to him. “I was just wondering if you wanted to dance, that's all.”

“Dance?” Ulrich asked, blinking with confusion as he gazed around the table at the other werewolves, all of whom looked just as perplexed as he did.

“Yeah,” he replied, “you know, where you move your body around to music? I mean, only if you want to, I was just asking.”

Ulrich had no idea what to say.

He looked around the space, at Alpha dancing awkwardly with Adina, and Tavish spinning Sadie around the floor enthusiastically, at Hermione and her human, and at last his eyes found Harry and Remus.

Harry seemed to be bubbling with excitement for him, and with something of an exaggerated grin, he mouthed two words at the dominant— _Go on._

“Erm, all right, I suppose,” Ulrich replied with a nod, and exchanged a look with Wu-Fei before he got up and allowed the human to lead him away.

Out of habit, Ulrich watched Wu-Fei take control of the table, then turned back to his ginger companion.

“I haven't danced like this in probably twenty years, I hope you realize,” Ulrich warned as he took one of the young man's hands, and the human's small smile stretched into a grin.

“That's fine, I'm sure you'll be brilliant anyway,” he replied as he placed a hand on the side of Ulrich's waist, while the werewolf led them in a simple waltz. To the compliment, it took a great deal of effort to swallow a blush. “I'm Charlie, by the way,” he added, “by your blank look before, I have a feeling you couldn't remember who I was.” Ulrich opened his mouth to apologize, but Charlie continued before he could say a word. “It's okay! I don't mean that as...a sort of, guilt thing, a lot happened round then, I can't blame you for forgetting me.”

“I'm still sorry,” Ulrich replied as they moved, and Charlie shook his head a little.

“It's all right, seriously, don't worry about it.”

Charlie's sunny smile never faded, and as they slowed to a stop when the song ended, the human brazenly reached for Ulrich's hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Thanks for the dance,” Charlie said, “can I...er, get you a drink?”

Ulrich tensed, and hoped that his surprise and alarm did not show on his face at the tentative offer. Ulrich had been out of the wizarding world for over three decades, but he was not an idiot. To offer a drink was almost as significant as offering food to one's intended within the werewolf community.

Ulrich cast his gaze quickly over to Harry, only to find him sneaking away with Remus, their fingers intertwined as they headed for the orchard. His stomach turned over with a strange mixture of jealousy and guilt—jealousy, because he still _wanted_ Harry, and guilt, because he knew that following his instincts and challenging Remus in any capacity would lead to nothing but misery for all of them.

Instead, Ulrich refocused his attention on Charlie, and tried to push his mixture of conflicting feelings to the back of his mind.

“All right, sure,” he said at last, and the ginger broke into another bright smile. He let go of Ulrich to hurry over to the buffet table leaden with champagne flutes, while Ulrich inched over to the side of the dance floor. It felt very strange to allow the human—Charlie, he reminded himself—to take the lead like this, and he could feel his wolf balking at the act. Even with Harry he had always been much more in control, and to step back like this felt well beyond just strange—it was downright _weird_.

“Here,” Charlie said as he returned, and offered one of the glasses to Ulrich. He sounded oddly breathless, and despite the clear attempt he was making to appear confident, Ulrich could taste his nervousness on the air, intertwined with his clear attraction.

“Thank you,” Ulrich replied awkwardly as he accepted the drink. Over Charlie's shoulder, he once more spotted Tavish and Sadie dancing together. Both seemed to feel the dominant's eyes on them, and they both stopped their awkward waltz to turn and mouth three words to him in eerily perfect sync.

“ _He wants you!”_

Ulrich felt the colour rise in his cheeks, and he quickly looked away from the pair of cackling subs. Charlie appeared blissfully ignorant to the exchange, and lifted the glass to clink it against Ulrich's in a silent toast.

As they sipped their drinks, Ulrich did not fail to notice how Charlie was inching closer to him, brushing his arm deliberately against Ulrich's, and would laugh in a good-natured fashion every time it happened. More surprising than these casual touches however, was Ulrich's gut-reaction to them—a familiar tickle in the pit of his stomach; something he'd only felt twice before, first with Corrine, then with Harry.

Charlie was not unattractive—far from it. Ulrich liked his easy confidence, his strong body, his freckly, golden skin, and how unafraid he was to show his interest in Ulrich. He was so different from Harry, but still similar enough that he found him to be luring Ulrich in without really trying. He was still smaller than Ulrich was, though not by much, and carried a thicker, more muscular build than he was usually drawn to. The attraction, Ulrich realized, was not towards Charlie's physical appearance in the strictest sense, but his genuine interest in Ulrich. With Harry, it had been reversed, and he and Corrine had been something special. She and their unborn child held onto a piece of his heart that no one else could touch.

Charlie was different. With his unabashed way of approaching Ulrich, his cheery attitude, it was strangely endearing.

“So, erm...” Ulrich scrounged for a topic, “what is it that you do, Charlie?”

“I work with dragons.”

Ulrich nearly dropped his champagne flute as he whirled around to stare at the human.

“ _Dragons_?” Ulrich parroted, and Charlie grinned.

“Yeah,” Charlie replied, his grin widening a little as he spoke, “I've just always enjoyed working with magical creatures, you know? Especially _powerful_ ones.”

“You try to tame the savage beast?” Ulrich asked with an arched brow, and Charlie chuckled.

“I respect those so-called _savage_ beasts,” Charlie replied as he inched a little closer to Ulrich. “I respect them, and in turn, they respect me right back.”

Charlie's breath tickled the exposed area of Ulrich's throat, and he took a small step back, his eyes wide with surprise. Immediately, Charlie's hopeful expression fell.

“Was that too forward?” Charlie asked quickly, his voice jumping up a little in panic. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push, I just...well, I guess it's obvious that I sort of like you.”

Charlie's skin flared pink following the apology, in a way that made Ulrich think that he was understating his interest in him by a little. Ulrich heaved a sigh as he lifted his free hand to rake it through his hair while he gazed at the human. His sunny smile was gone, and Ulrich hated that it was he himself who had put the frown on his face.

“It's just...it's a little soon, after...” Ulrich trailed off and shook his head, his mouth twitching in a bitter smile. _This sounds weirdly familiar_ , he thought humorlessly. “I don't dislike you, Charlie, but I don't want to move on too soon. I pushed Harry to move on before he was completely over Remus, and look how that ended up. You're a nice bloke, I don't want to hurt you with all my baggage.”

“I'm not asking for your hand in marriage,” Charlie teased, his warm smile returning as he spoke. “I'm just talking about two people getting to know each other. Over champagne, or coffee, or a walk in a park, who knows. I just want to get to know you, that's all. There's no pressure one way or another for more than that. Yeah?”

Ulrich bit the inside of his cheek as he regarded the human. His thoughts sifted through the three significant relationships he'd had during his life—Steven, Corrine, Harry—and he felt a pang of sadness. Was accepting Charlie's offer just going to lead to more heartbreak? He wasn't sure if he could handle that.

A hand ghosted across the side of his waist, and Ulrich jumped. He hadn't expected it, and he internally kicked himself for dropping his guard—this was _not_ how a pack beta was supposed to act. His gaze snapped back up to Charlie's face, and he supposed that he looked more fierce than he had intended, for Charlie's hopeful look immediately began to fade. For someone who looked so physically powerful, it was odd to see the wounded puppy look that now rested upon his face.

“I have to go,” Ulrich said uneasily, and stepped back from Charlie, and hurried back over to their table, where Adina was smiling at him knowingly.

“Have fun?” she asked sweetly, and Ulrich scowled at her. “Oh, don't be such a sourpuss, what's the harm in a human showing an interest in you?”

“Considering my track record?” he asked, and arched a brow at her, but to his surprise, she shook her head.

“Your _track record_ , as you call it, has no bearing on this human,” Adina said reassuringly while she reached out to pat his arm. “This is new; you have always done the approaching, and this time, someone approached _you_. I think you should give him a chance—it would be good for you.”

“Either he'll turn out to be an abusive shithead, die, or leave me for someone else,” Ulrich replied sourly, and Adina frowned at him, but he ignored the look. “I'm starting to think it's better for me to be alone.”

“Ulrich, don't say that,” she said, her tone of voice mournful as she spoke, “you have _so_ much love to give, don't lock yourself away because of a few bumps in the road.”

“Why not? I did it before,” Ulrich replied, “I was with Corrine, and _God_ , I loved her more than I loved to breathe, and then I lost her and our pups, and I was alone for _twenty years_ before Harry walked into my life. I was fine.”

“You were grieving,” Adina said gently, “it's okay to take time for yourself when you grieve, but staying stuck isn't healthy either, _phelan_.”

“I'm hardly _phelan_ ,” Ulrich replied, and Adina smiled at him warmly.

“You'll always be a little wolf to me, Ulrich.”

 

~*~

 

The wedding wound to a close, and _the happy couple_ disappeared to their new house, unable to go very far what with the baby on the way, and the werewolves returned to the territory.

Life returned to the peaceful norm that Ulrich was so accustomed to—breaking up fights between dominants over the attentions of a sub, arranging hunting parties, checking on the warding, and all the other menial tasks that fell to the beta, while the alpha was busy with his mates, or running the pack.

All the while, Ulrich strove to keep his eyes away from Harry when he spotted the young wolf teaching the pups, not because he felt threatened by Remus's claim of him, but rather out of respect—he had lost the sub to his better, and he needed to accept that if he ever wanted to maintain any sort of friendship with either of them.

At the same time, Ulrich's mind was flooded with thoughts of a certain ginger-haired human.

It was strange, for it was not the instantaneous attraction he had felt with any of his former partners. It was mellower, like a spring breeze, and not a summer wind. Charlie had been nice, albeit somewhat overly cautious about overstepping his bounds, but _nice_. Moreover, the interest he showed in Ulrich was a switch for him—he was not used to being courted, and it left his mind and instincts in a tangled, confused state—his instincts balked at the idea of not just a submissive creature, but a _human_ courting him, but his mind, his rational parts, they tingled with delight at the idea of someone showing such interest in him.

“It creates problems for the pack when anyone of us involves ourselves with a human, you know that, Ulrich,” Fenrir grunted one evening as he turned the wooden statuette in his hand and continued whittling—a gift for Tavish, Ulrich knew. To the explanation, he felt his shoulders sag. Sometimes, he hated how well Fenrir knew him—he hadn't even _mentioned_ the wedding or the human's interest in him yet. “I saw you two dancing and talking, and I know he's interested in you. If you want him, turn him first. I have had more than enough pack drama to last another three lifetimes.”

Fenrir glanced over to Harry, who was sitting on the grass between Remus's legs, the pair talking softly as they gazed at the starry sky, pointing up occasionally, presumably pointing out the constellations to each other. Ulrich felt his heart twinge a little at the sight of them, but he understood what Fenrir was implying. They'd _all_ had more than enough pack drama of late, and Ulrich could go a long healthy stretch without enduring anything like it again.

“I understand, Alpha.”

 

~*~

 

Ulrich had been quite content to forget the warm, smiling face of Charlie Weasley and fall back into the regular, day-to-day of pack life. Unfortunately, the subs were less keen to let it go, and aside from Adina's gentle nudging, he was subject to a variety of remarks from Tavish, Sadie, _and_ Harry that he and Charlie would be good for each other.

“Past performance is not an indicator of future results, Ulrich,” Harry pointed out from behind a stack of essays, “I think Charlie would be good for you, plus I've known _of_ him since I was eleven, and met him properly when I was fourteen. He's a good man.”

“And _hot_ ,” Tavish added with a leering grin, from his spot on one of the log benches. “Did you _see_ his arms? Those are good arms to have.”

“Can you _imagine_ them together?” Sadie chimed in with a grin of her own, “all that muscle in one bed...”

Harry and Tavish both let out eerily synchronized sexual moans, which made Remus, who was nearby, snort, and Fenrir, who had been subtly eavesdropping, roll his eyes.

“Stop imagining me!” Ulrich cried before he could think better of it, and the trio of troublemaker subs dissolved into peals of laughter.

“You may want to bite the bullet and ask him out to get them to stop pestering you,” Remus said idly over the laughter of the others, “if it helps, I've known Charlie longer than Harry has, and he really _is_ a good man. I think you two would be good for each other.”

Ulrich scowled, but didn't answer.

 

~*~

 

Ulrich put up with the frustrating hinting and innuendo for another fortnight before the package came.

Even without opening it, Ulrich could smell it was cooked meat of some kind, and the stasis charms around it to keep it from spoiling seeped through the paper it was packaged in, and tickled his fingers. He didn't recognize the handwriting on the outside of it, but if the way Harry grinned when he spotted him holding it, and the decrepit, ancient owl that had brought it, he had a feeling that he knew who had sent it.

When he slit open to accompanying envelope, he wasn't surprised to find that it was indeed from Charlie.

 

_Ulrich—_

 

_A little white wolf told me that you really liked rabbit, and so enclosed is something for you. I caught it and killed it myself, I think I read somewhere that that is how you tell a werewolf you're properly interested in them. I cooked the meat on my mum's insistence, she didn't think raw rabbit would travel very well. I hope it's not too well done._

_I know one more attempt may possibly qualify as stalking, so consider this my last ditch effort. I like you. A lot. I think I could possibly make you happy, but maybe you're not used to things working out romantically, I don't know, Harry is being a stubborn little twerp and won't tell me much about you except for the basics. Anyway, I just want to get to know you better. I think you're handsome, and you just have this air that makes me feel all excited and safe and everything all at once. I can't really explain it very well, my track record with relationships is shit, mostly because I spent my adult life with more dragons than people._

_I don't want anything from you you feel like you need to force yourself to give me. Don't think of this as pressure—think of it as a gift. I would really like to get to know you, maybe more, if you'll let me, but don't feel obligated to go out with me because of this. If after you're finished eating my gift you've decided I'm not worth it, send a big, fat NO back with Errol, and I promise that this time I will back off._

_I hope you'll give me a chance, but like I said, no pressure either way._

 

_Charlie_

 

Ulrich hastily tore open the package, and his mouth watered as the sweet scent of roasted rabbit filled his nostrils. Ulrich could smell fresh thyme and pig fat intermingling with the rabbit scent, and his stomach rumbled audibly.

As covertly as possible, Ulrich carried the parcel back to his cabin while being careful to stay out of sight of Fenrir, who would certainly not approve of him accepting the gift. Aside from Charlie being human, it was quite uncommon for a dom to be courted in such a fashion, and such a thing was not a fitting behaviour for a beta to participate in. For once in his life, he didn't care, and found himself quite curious to see if the rabbit was, in fact, too well done or not.

The meat was, in point of fact, _perfect_.

Ulrich nearly moaned aloud as he bit into one of the pieces, licking grease from his lips as the taste exploded in his mouth.

 _If I were to accept his suit, I might just do it on his cooking skills alone—I could definitely get used to gifts like this,_ Ulrich thought as he cleaned the thighbone of its meat, and quickly cast a few preservation charms with his wand to ensure that the rest of the gift would keep. He wanted this to last.

Outside of his cabin, Ulrich found Harry waiting for him, a knowing grin painted across his face, and a look of triumph glowing in his eyes.

“Are you ever going to lay off and stop playing cupid?” Ulrich asked, and Harry's grin widened.

“Nope.”

“Alpha said I'm not to pursue this.”

“And do you _always_ do what Alpha tells you to?”

“Not _always_ ,” Ulrich protested, and Harry let out a derisive snort. “Really. I don't blindly follow Alpha's every command.”

“Yeah? Name _one_ command you didn't follow.”

“Most of the ones involving you, actually.”

Harry threw his head back and laughed, though at the same time his cheeks had flushed an embarrassed pink. It was really remarkable how much the little sub had changed in the months since his arrival—and how he'd changed since his relationship with Remus had settled.

Ulrich tried to not let his jealousy rear his head at that particular concept.

“Oh, come on,” Harry said when he'd calmed down, though he was still giggling a little, “Charlie is totally starry-eyed for you. What's the harm in letting him in a little? Wu-Fei can stand in as beta for you, and you can run off to see Charlie. It's not like me, where I wasn't sure and things, Charlie _definitely_ likes you.”

“You are _such_ a bad influence, Harry,” Ulrich said with a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and the sub answered with another grin.

“Go write him back,” Harry encouraged, “and just say _yes_. If you're worried about Alpha not letting you court him, you and I _both_ know of a certain sub who can probably change his mind...”

“ _Eugh_ , Harry,” Ulrich replied as he wrinkled his nose, “it's bad enough that those two are almost as openly affectionate as you and your mate about shagging in public...”

“Prude,” Harry shot back with a grin, then turned his head, and Ulrich followed his gaze to find Remus wandering through the cabins, none-too-subtly looking for Harry. “I better go, but seriously...at least go for one date. You're a good man, and you deserve some happiness after everything.”

Harry didn't wait for his answer before he darted off towards his mate, and Ulrich watched as Remus drew him close to scent him, making Harry laugh.

“I might just do that, Harry,” Ulrich said to himself as he watched the pair wander off, and he ignored the swell of jealousy in the pit of his stomach. “I just might.”

 


	2. Part II: First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome back, guys :) I'm hoping to have the next chapter out by March 8th, but no promises on this one. At the latest, it will be up by March 15th. This one is a little shorter than the last one, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! :D

Part II: First Date

 

Almost as soon as Ulrich had agreed to meet with Charlie for a _date_ , he had begun to regret it.

This was not in any way Charlie's fault, but in fact the fault of two pesky, pain-in-the-arse male subs who had decided that he needed a makeover before his date, and had barged in the morning of the event at the crack of dawn.

“Harry, Tavish, for the _last_ fucking time, get _out_ of my damn cabin!” Ulrich barked as he pointed at the door, making Tavish jump and Harry frown, but neither sub moved at the command.

“Would you stop being such a princess and let us help?” Harry demanded as he blatantly ignored the order. “Hermione taught me all sorts of tricks that will make Charlie _love_ you, so sit down and let us dress you. Now, take off your trousers.”

Harry darted forward before Ulrich could stop him, and began to tug on the garment, grinning wildly while Tavish toppled to the floor dramatically and began to howl with laughter.

“Get _off_!” Ulrich cried out, and tried to push the sub away without hurting him, but Harry merely laughed and grabbed hold of him again.

“Come on, it's nothing I haven't seen before!”

“I'll tell Remus!”

“Tell him what, that I'm helping you get ready for your date?” Harry arched a brow at him as he continued to grin. “He knows that already, I told him so that he wouldn't freak out when he smelt you all over me.”

Still struggling against Harry's halfhearted and teasing attempt to strip him, he wormed his way to the door of his cabin and staggered out into the territory.

“Remus! _Remus!_ ” Ulrich shouted, and within a minute the older wolf came into view, half-jogging up to the door, and hardly offering Harry (who was still gripping tightly to Ulrich's jeans) a passing glance.

“What's wrong?” Remus asked the moment he'd come to a stop, “you sounded like you were being attacked.”

“Do you not _see_ your mate trying to accost me?” Ulrich asked, and Harry grinned again.

“Well, if he's pestering you he's out of my hair for a little while—”

“— _oi!_ ” said Harry, and Ulrich snorted, while Remus smiled at his mate and Harry offered him a ridiculously childish pout.

“Just let them have their fun, everyone's very excited for you, your _date_ is pretty big news.”

“ _Almost_ everyone,” Ulrich filled in, and Remus chuckled softly.

“Alpha will come around, just give him some time,” Remus said consolingly, though Ulrich had his doubts about how true that was—Fenrir had not been exactly _pleased_ when he'd discovered what Ulrich had done.

 

~*~

 

“ _You did_ what _?” Fenrir demanded, his teeth bared at Ulrich, who did not flinch as the alpha bore down on him, and gave him a sharp shove._

“ _I asked Charlie Weasley out,” Ulrich said simply, “and he said yes.”_

“ _What part of_ turn him first _was not clear to you?” Fenrir asked angrily, “I have had more than my fill of dealing with wizards, and you go against me and_ court _one?”_

“ _What about Hermione? And Remus?” Ulrich asked, “both were seeing humans, one of them is_ still _involved with a human. Why am I different?”_

“ _Because you are the Beta of this pack, you imbecile,” Fenrir snapped. “You need to be held in a higher regard. This pack looks to its leaders for strength, and if we're fraternizing with wizards—”_

“— _wizards who accept us!”_

“ _Accept, put up with,_ tolerate _,” Fenrir snapped. “It was not so long ago that Red Moon was trying to wipe us all out. Wizards will never truly understand other magical beings, all they care about is controlling us, and calling it acceptance. And_ you _went and got yourself involved with one, when I specifically told you not to!”_

“ _And why are you even angry about this?” Ulrich shouted back, “Hermione just_ married _his brother, and the family is trustworthy! Charlie isn't planning on hurting me, not like Steven did!”_

“ _You don't know that!”_

“ _Yes I do!”_

“ _No wonder you liked Potter so fucking much, you two are so bloody stubborn!” Fenrir roared in frustration, turning around as he spoke, and he kicked a large oak, making the leaves shake._

“ _Alpha?” a small voice suddenly said, peering out from the cabin's door that they stood by, and Tavish stepped out, starkers and drowsy, and positively covered in purple love bites._

“ _Not now, Tavish,” Fenrir growled, but the sub ignored him, stepping brazenly up to his angry mate, and linked his arms around Fenrir's neck._

“ _I heard everything,” he said, “your cabin isn't exactly soundproof, you know. Why not let Ulrich go?” He trailed his pointer finger along the cleft between the alpha's pecs slowly, smirking a little as he did so, “it's just_ one _little date, and Ulrich is tough enough to take care of himself if something happens, plus, after everything, wouldn't you_ want _your beta to be happy?”_

_Fenrir's eyes darted from the sub in front of him, to his beta, and back again. His teeth were visibly gritted in frustration, and he was growling like an angry dog. Tavish's finger stopped at the waistband of Fenrir's jeans, and he smirked, uncaring that Ulrich was watching as he slipped his whole hand down the front of them. Ulrich did his best not to laugh when he saw the alpha's knees buckle a little._

“ _Please?” Tavish asked sweetly, “just this once.”_

_Fenrir growled again, and his gaze flicked to Ulrich, defeat registering in the alpha's gaze. Ulrich did his best to keep from grinning from his victory while he watched the alpha grab his sub and drag him wordlessly back into his cabin._

 

_~*~_

 

“C'mon,” Harry said suddenly, drawing Ulrich out of his memories, “be a sport and let us help.”

Ulrich looked between the two pleading subs, their eyes wide and puppy-dog like.

“If _either_ of you break out a makeup kit, I'll never speak to you again,” Ulrich growled, and the pair of subs exchanged unnerving conspiratorial smirks, while Remus, unhelpfully, laughed and left them to it.

Thankfully the subs behaved themselves—more or less. Tavish washed, dried, and applied some sort of potion to his hair while Harry picked out some jeans and a shirt for him, mending the frayed hem and knees with his wand before passing the garments over, and pointedly turning around to give him a little privacy, but Tavish had no such qualms as he loudly protested, “you've probably seen his massive horse cock five hundred times, why are you being shy _now_?”

“I'm being _polite_ , you arse,” Harry shot back, and grabbed Tavish's shoulder to forcibly turn him around as well. They continued to bicker while Ulrich turned his attention to the clothing Harry had gotten for him, and tugged them on. The shirt was a simple fitted black V-neck jumper, comfortable and more stylish than he could ever recall wearing, much less owning before. Given that dominant werewolves tended to have a higher body heat, they usually wore _less_ clothes, not more, but considering that he was venturing out beyond the borders of his home for the day, he knew that he needed to dress the part of someone in the wizarding world if he didn't want to stand out.

“Where did you get these clothes?” Ulrich asked Harry softly, the question effectively breaking up his argument with Tavish, and he offered the dom a small grin.

“Call it an early birthday present,” Harry teased, and offered the jumper a light tug. “Just don't get upset when I don't get you anything in May.”

“Remind me to shed a tear,” he replied, and offered Harry a gentle nudge in the ribs as he smiled at his former mate. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Harry said, his cheeks tinting pink as he smiled at Ulrich bashfully. “I just...I want this to go well for you. I want you to be happy.”

“I...” Ulrich paused, and offered Harry another small smile. “Thanks.”

“Oh!” Harry said suddenly, “one last thing!”

The sub grinned teasingly as he pulled out a stick of eyeliner, and began to laugh when Ulrich snatched it from him, snapped it in half, and tossed it out the window.

 

~*~

 

“Wow,” a slightly breathless voice said as Ulrich Apparated into the vast, empty field where he was due to meet Charlie. “You look great.”

Ulrich looked up, and smiled a little when he spotted Charlie standing there, his ears flushed red (though it wasn't clear whether that was from the cold December air or from embarrassment) and dressed simply in dark jeans, a jumper, and a leather jacket. Again, Ulrich felt that stirring of desire as he gazed at him, but fought the urge to lick his lips. If he remembered wizard courtships correctly, they didn't usually shag on the first date.

_Or did they?_ Ulrich wondered. He couldn't remember.

“Thank you,” Ulrich replied awkwardly, and offered Charlie a small smile. “I'm sorry, I don't exactly... _date_ often.”

“That's okay,” Charlie said brightly, “I sort of assumed that, anyway, Hermione always said you lot are sort of cut off up there.”

“I think _secluded_ is a better way to look at it,” Ulrich said with a small smile. The phrasing of _cut off_ bothered him, but at the same time Ulrich had a feeling that Charlie had not meant anything by it, given that he immediately offered Ulrich a weak, apologetic smile.

“Secluded, then,” he replied, “sorry...I didn't mean any offence...I've never, erm, been interested in a werewolf before, and I'm not trying to imply anything...er... _bad_.”

Charlie's ears flooded with colour again, and be ducked his head a little as he spoke. Ulrich couldn't help but smile at the expression—the wounded puppy look on someone so strong of frame was endearing, and, quite frankly, adorable.

Ulrich started a little at the invasive thought. Did he really think Charlie was _adorable_?

“Come on,” Charlie said suddenly as he extended a hand and waited for Ulrich to take it, his azure gaze alight with hope, and Ulrich found that he simply couldn't say no. He reached for Charlie's hand, and with a warm smile, the human led him away.

Charlie guided him from the field to a more private spot, where he pulled Ulrich away in Side-Along Apparition. When they reappeared, they were in a grouping of trees—too small to be a forest—that Ulrich did not recognize.

“Where are we?” Ulrich asked curiously, gazing around as he spoke. The trees, the scent of damp leaves and distant fauna, it all made him feel calmer and more at home.

“The Scamander Nature Reserve,” Charlie explained, “just outside of Yorkshire. I wanted to make sure it was an area with no pack to speak of, so that you wouldn't feel...well, nervous, or anxious, or what have you.”

“It's a magical nature reserve?” Ulrich asked curiously as he gazed around, his hand still in Charlie's as he took in the sight of the forest. Unlike home, it did not seem to be protected by magical warding, and was subject to the elements. The trees were stripped of their leaves, and the air was cool, but not biting. The few evergreens that dotted the landscape glimmered with frost, but the snow was not heavy upon their branches.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, “I...well...I figured you'd be most comfortable in a sort of foresty-type area, so...here we are.”

“Well...you thought right,” Ulrich replied, smirking a little at the ginger. Charlie beamed, and reached for Ulrich's hand again, which he gave up freely.

The couple wove through the woods, chatting idly as they went. Charlie made no secret of his interest in Ulrich, and took every opportunity to touch him—brushing his arm, touching his shoulder, or grabbing his hand when he saw something. More amazing to Ulrich still was his reaction to these moments.

Goddess help him, he thought it was _cute._

About an hour after they'd gotten to the sanctuary, Charlie surprised him with a picnic (and a few warming charms to stave off the cold), and more of his delicious cooking—including more roasted rabbit.

“I hope you're not getting bored of it,” Charlie said with a nervous laugh as he speared a crisp fried potato with his own fork, “but rabbits are easy to catch, and I always felt weird about eating dragon meat.”

“I hardly expected you to jump from rabbit hunting to dragon slaying,” Ulrich replied dryly, and Charlie laughed. “And you needn't worry—I like your roasted rabbit, it's really good.”

“Mum taught me,” Charlie replied with a sheepish smile that made Ulrich feel all warm inside. “When I first told her I was off to Romania to study dragons, she was convinced that I was going to starve to death, so spent two months teaching me how to cook, how to dry herbs, how to cure meat, everything.”

“Well, you'd give our pack cooks a run for their money, that's for sure,” Ulrich replied as he chuckled to himself, and Charlie grinned as he lay back against the blanket and folded his arms under his head.

“Will I get to meet them? The pack, I mean, not just the cooks,” Charlie asked, but his smile fell when he gazed over at Ulrich, and saw the frown on his face. “What's wrong?”

“Alpha made it perfectly clear that if I'm to bring you to meet the pack, it needs to be after you've been turned,” Ulrich explained while he lay down across from Charlie, the partially-eaten food still between them. The ginger's eyes widened a little at the explanation, his lips parted, and Ulrich rushed in to another explanation before Charlie could get the wrong idea. “It's not that he doesn't trust you...I think after letting Hermione marry Ron, he has no issues with your family, but this last two years with everything that happened around Harry...it's been chaotic. Alpha is just trying to keep things from getting bad again, so he doesn't want more humans in the territory. Even away from the moon it can be dangerous sometimes.”

“Oh.” Charlie bit his lip and sat up, and looked down at his hands. He was opening and closing his fists, and looked very much like Ulrich had taken out his heart and stomped on it. “Have you ever been with a human...like this I mean?”

“Sort of,” Ulrich replied with a wince. Discussing Steven was still difficult. “But I don't want you to be something you're not, and I don't want you to take The Bite just to please me or Alpha, or anyone else, for that matter. I like you as you are, Charlie.”

“You do?” Charlie cast him a sideways glance, his expression calculating and uncertain.

“Yeah, I do,” Ulrich replied, and he was mildly surprised at how much he meant it, too. “I don't want you to force yourself on my account, that was my biggest problem in the past with...some relationships.”

“Like...Harry?” Charlie hedged, and Ulrich winced as he nodded.

“Sorry,” Ulrich muttered, “I know it's not considered good form to discuss exes, especially on a first date.”

“It's _Harry,_ Ulrich,” Charlie said with a warm chuckle. “He's like a little brother to me, and I'm not jealous of him. I mean, I _was_ , a little, but not now. Harry has a piece of your heart that I can't touch, and I'm okay with that. You _loved_ him, and he couldn't love you back because of Remus. We all could see that it was just a matter of time, but no one wanted to say anything, just in case. It's not our business, so it needed to run its course. I can't hate Harry, it's not like he set out to hurt you. And now...well, I have you to myself, so I can't complain.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of perfect?”

“Yes,” Charlie replied without pause, and offered Ulrich a grin. “But mostly dragons. I think you're the first werewolf to comment on my perfection.”

“No need to be modest,” Ulrich retorted, while Charlie's grin widened a little, and Ulrich's gaze fell to study his face more closely. His smile was not straight, but slightly crooked, and his teeth were very white against his tan skin. He was so strong, yet so soft, and something about his easy confidence and silly egotism was charming, instead of off-putting.

Ulrich reached out, and brushed a strand of red hair from his eyes. Charlie's breath caught, and his eyes widened a little, apparently startled by sudden touch. Ulrich assumed that he had overstepped his bounds and moved to retract his hand, but the human caught his wrist before he could go very far, and shifted his grip to thread their fingers together.

“Good reflexes,” Ulrich remarked, and Charlie offered him a warm smile.

“I was a Seeker,” he replied, and Ulrich chuckled as he lifted their clasped limbs to his lips, offered the back of Charlie's hand a gentle kiss, and the human's ears turned a charming shade of red.

“Then I'll be the Catcher,” Ulrich offered, and Charlie smiled broadly.

 

~*~

 

Ulrich really did not want to leave.

This was something of a surprise, given how indifferent he had felt about the date to begin with, but now he did not want to bid Charlie goodbye.

Charlie was nice, he was charming, and he was _hot_. Perhaps it was a bit too soon, but already Ulrich's mind began to drift, wondering what it would be like to pin him down and take him. To taste that muscle, and feel someone so strong give in to him, and let Ulrich take care of him.

And, for a moment, Ulrich was grateful that Charlie was human, and could not smell his arousal. Despite his desires, he wanted to do this right, and not rush Charlie into his bed just to satisfy his libido, but neither was he patient, and when he began sensing Charlie's fatigue, he smiled and drew the ginger close, which did not startle the human, so much as it entranced him.

Charlie grinned wildly as he threw his arms over Ulrich's shoulders, and before Ulrich was able to ask permission, he was already drawing the werewolf into a needy kiss. Ulrich let out a little grunt of surprise as he pulled Charlie close, his lips moulding to the human's immediately, while he lifted a hand to Charlie's cheek, cradling the strong human against himself, and drawing out the embrace for as long as he could.

When the kiss finally broke, Charlie was panting softly and gripping Ulrich's shoulders tightly, as though afraid to let him go. He looked up after a moment, and for the first time Ulrich saw a wavering uncertainty in his eyes, and he felt a swell of pride that he was able to still take the lead, and not feel as though he was pushing Charlie down in order to do it.

“Can I see you again?” Ulrich asked, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a small smirk when Charlie's ears turned red again.

“I hope so,” Charlie replied with a soft chuckle as he leant in for another kiss, one which Ulrich was happy to return. “ _Especially_ if you keep kissing me like that.”

 


	3. Approval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next update will be March 15th, or March 22nd at the latest.

Part III: Approval

 

Ulrich found himself wholly unsurprised when he got back to the territory to find Harry hanging about outside his cabin, wrapped up in Remus's arms, and the pair were kissing each other enthusiastically. Ulrich felt that all-too-familiar twinge of jealousy stir in the pit of his stomach, but the moon was far enough off that he understood that Harry wasn't doing it on purpose, and more likely they had devolved into snogging like a pair of teenagers while they waited, and no other reason.

“Ulrich!” Harry cried when Ulrich stopped about ten feet away—but only after he had coughed pointedly. The sub's face flooded with colour, and he looked from Remus to Ulrich and back again, embarrassment registering on his face as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, but no words came out. “I was just...we were just...”

“Mixing up cabins again?” Ulrich teased, and Harry's face went, if possible, even redder.

“I just wanted to know how your date went, and then Remus came to keep me company while I waited, and...”

“You two are as bad as Alpha and Tavish, are you aware of that?”

“We are not!” Harry protested with a laugh, “do you see _me_ all marked up and waddling around like I had a cannon up my arse?”

Remus leant in and whispered something in Harry's ear, which caused him to snort and smack the dominant on the arm. Ulrich chuckled as he stepped closer, intending to head inside, and he heard Harry murmur, “ _I'll see you back home, yeah?_ ” roughly three seconds before he barrelled into the cabin ahead of Ulrich, and plopped himself down on one of the benches near the fire pit. “Tell. Me. _Everything._ ”

Ulrich huffed a laugh at Harry's exuberance, and moved to join him by the fire pit. He sat at a respectful distance, and despite his lovely date with Charlie, he still felt the niggling temptation to close the space between them and take Harry into his arms like he used to.

Ulrich shook his head once to dispel the thought. Perhaps it would take more than one date to _completely_ rid his mind of its need for Harry Potter.

“It was...nice,” Ulrich said after a moment's pause, while Harry flicked his wand at the fire pit to ignite it. “We went to a nature reserve and had a picnic there. Charlie was very sweet.”

“And was there kissing?”

“Not _everything_ is about kissing, Harry,” Ulrich admonished with a chuckle.

“True,” Harry admitted, “some things are about groping. Was there groping?”

“Jealous?” Ulrich teased, and Harry laughed out loud.

“Not in the slightest, but I just want to make sure he's treating you properly.”

“Properly?” Ulrich echoed with a chuckle, and Harry grinned.

“Yeah,” he replied, “you know, bringing you flowers, holding the door open for you, not looking up your skirt...”

“I think you have it a little backwards,” Ulrich said, “I think _I'd_ be more the gentleman than him...he's only human, after all.”

“You got something against humans?”

“Only the bad ones.”

“So not Charlie, then,” Harry filled in, and Ulrich smirked a little as he recalled the kiss.

“ _Definitely_ not.”

“Was it good?” Harry asked, drawing his knees up to his chest as he spoke, and Ulrich smiled to himself, drawing another grin from the sub. “It _was_ good, wasn't it?”

“He sure as hell didn't learn his snogging techniques from those dragons,” Ulrich replied, and Harry laughed out loud.

“So, are you going to see him again?” Harry asked, his eyes twinkling with hope, and Ulrich smiled a little.

“Yeah,” he said, “I hope so.”

 

~*~

 

A week later, Ulrich stood on the edge of the pack's territory, and smiled when a familiar redhead materialized before him with a sharp _crack_.

Charlie smiled broadly the moment that he saw Ulrich, and hurried over to kiss him in greeting.

“Hi,” Charlie said, his hands falling to Ulrich's waist as he offered the werewolf a grin. “I know it's only been a week, but is it too cheesy to say I missed you?”

“I've heard worse lines,” Ulrich teased, and moved in to kiss Charlie again. “Anyway, I missed you too.”

“So, where are we? You wouldn't tell me the name of the meeting place, remember? You just gave me coordinates.”

“Oh, a very secret spot,” Ulrich replied with a warm chuckle as he leant in for one last kiss before he turned and led Charlie away from the territory's borders and deeper into the woods. “It's where I come to think. I never even took Harry out here, it's something only the naturally-minded can really appreciate, like...someone who works with animals, for instance.”

“Hmm...like dragons, as an example?” Charlie asked as they wove though the trees, and Ulrich smiled warmly at the human.

“Exactly _._ ”

It took nearly half an hour of walking before they reached their destination. Charlie didn't seem to mind, and in fact appeared to enjoy the trek as he bounced between running ahead like an overexcited pup, and happily clinging to Ulrich's arm, like there was nowhere else he'd rather be. When they passed through the secrecy charms and finally made it to Ulrich's secret place, Ulrich wasn't watching the scenery anymore. Instead his gaze was fixed on Charlie, eager to see his reaction to the sight of his secret spot—and he wasn't disappointed.

Charlie's lips parted, his eyes went wide, and he took a small, uncertain step forward. His jewel-bright irises seemed to glimmer in the sunlight that refracted off the lake's surface as a beluga swam past, the fish that shared its name with the saltwater mammal perfectly visible in the water, the surface of which was as clear as a pane of glass.

The sturgeon did not seem to notice them, but continued its trek to the deeper waters, and disappeared into the weeds.

Charlie stepped closer to the water and away from Ulrich. He fell to his knees at the edge and traced his fingers along the surface, and Charlie watched his shadow move on the lake bed. A crayfish darted out from beneath a stone to snap at the silhouette of his fingers, then jetted back under the stone just as quickly.

“This is... _impossible,_ ” Charlie breathed, “none of these species _exist_ in Great Britain.”

“I found it one day while I was exploring,” Ulrich said softly while he knelt at Charlie's side, the human's eyes still fixed on the water. “I have no idea how it got here, or why these species are here, either. I always felt sort of peaceful when I sat by and watched the lake, so I started putting secrecy charms around it to keep other people from finding it. It's where I go when I need to think.”

“And you're sharing it with me?” Charlie asked, turning his gaze away from the water and back to Ulrich. His eyes were shining with a childlike wonder, and Ulrich nodded. “Why? I mean...we haven't been seeing each other very long, and this seems really special to you.”

“If you want to be supremely tacky, this would be our one week anniversary,” Ulrich teased, and Charlie let out a loud laugh as the werewolf leant in for a kiss.

“I suppose it is,” Charlie replied as he kissed Ulrich back, letting out a giggle as the werewolf pushed him back into the lush green grass and kissed him again. “But...seriously, why?”

“I don't know,” Ulrich replied, and Charlie frowned at him. “No, really, I don't.” He sat up with a small sigh, tugging his human with him, and wrapped his arms around Charlie while he perched his head against the top of his shoulder. “I just...when we started talking about going out again, I just really wanted to show you this place. I'm not spectacular at being patient and not mucking up my relationships, but I _do_ know what I want.”

“It's me, right?” Charlie asked with a teasing grin, and Ulrich replied with a smile.

“Yeah, baby,” Ulrich purred as he leant in for another kiss, “it's you.”

 

~*~

 

When Ulrich got back to the territory a few hours later, he found Fenrir waiting for him, his arms crossed, a scowl on his face, whilst doing an impressive (and slightly terrifying) impression of a mother waiting for her past-curfew child to come blundering in.

“Where have you been, Ulrich?” Fenrir growled, and Ulrich frowned at him.

“You know exactly where I've been, Alpha—with Charlie.”

“When I _specifically_ told you _no?_ ”

“What are you going to do, _ground me?_ ”

“Stand down, Beta,” Fenrir growled in answer, “before I _put_ you down.”

“You can't bar me from seeing someone like this!” Ulrich protested as he met his alpha's eyes in a brazen challenge. “Charlie has done _nothing_ wrong, why do you hate him so much?”

“Have you so easily forgotten what happened the last time you were entwined with a human?” Fenrir demanded, “first Steven, who screwed you up so badly with those _poisons_ that you didn't know your elbow from your arsehole. Then, thank the Gods, you and Corrine got together, and I thought your pining days were over. Then she dies, the war...and I return, only to have you yammer on endlessly about _another_ human.”

“Don't talk about Harry to me,” Ulrich snapped, his teeth bared. “I don't do these things on purpose. I can't control who I fall in love with. Harry was special, he _still_ is. He'll _always_ be special to me, but Charlie is different. Charlie wants me for _me_. Why do you refuse to see that?”

“Because he's _human!_ ” Fenrir snapped, “if you want him so badly, _turn him_.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Fenrir's voice lowered from a shout to a dangerous growl. Ulrich swallowed nervously, but he did not allow his intimidation to show on his face.

“I said no,” Ulrich repeated, and Fenrir's eyes narrowed in anger while he barrelled forward before the alpha could interrupt. “I'll not change him when he hasn't tried to change me. He hasn't asked me to act more human, he hasn't asked me to alter my behaviour, or be something I'm not, and when we go out, the first place he took me was to a place where _I'd_ feel more comfortable. He cares about me, Alpha.”

“That is just what he _wants_ you to think!” Fenrir barked, “ _all_ humans are the same. They hunt, they destroy us, they fear what we might do if allowed to live in peace!”

“Charlie isn't like that!” Ulrich shouted back. “Charlie works _with_ magical creatures, not against them. He doesn't try to control us, he respects us!”

“You are being blinded by lust for a human who can never fully appreciate you!”

“Alpha, stop it!”

The addition of the third voice caused Ulrich to whirl around at the same moment that Fenrir did, and they saw Adina standing there, radiating a fury that Ulrich had not seen from her in years. It took a lot for the pack's alpha bitch to get angry, and most knew to steer clear of her when it happened. Now, Ulrich took a small step back as she stormed forward, and she jammed her pointer finger in the centre of her mate's chest.

“How _dare_ you do this to Ulrich, Fenrir!” she cried, and Ulrich pressed his lips into a thin line to keep from laughing at the look of alarm upon the alpha's face.

“Adina, you don't understand—”

“Don't you _Adina_ me, _Alpha_ ,” she sneered, “Ulrich is your beta and your oldest friend, and he is seeing a man who may as well be pack—he is the brother of Hermione's mate. What reason do you have for denying him? Because he's _human_? As I recall, _I_ was human when you first brought me to the pack, and you seemed to have no problem shagging _me_ before I was even turned!”

“It's not—”

“— _the same?_ ” she demanded, “if you finish that sentence, mister, I can guarantee that you will _never_ have sex again. Don't challenge me, you know Tavish will listen to _me_ before he ever listens to _you._ Give me a _real_ reason why Charlie is not an ideal partner for our beta. How is he less than any of any of Ulrich's other partners? Than Corrine? Or Harry?”

Ulrich winced at the mention of the loss of his two greatest loves, but he did not interrupt as he watched the alpha grind his teeth and glare at his mate. His body language all but screamed at Adina to stand down, but she refused to, and instead straightened her shoulders while she stepped closer to him in a move of unquestioning dominance. Fenrir growled, and Adina narrowed her eyes.

The very air seemed to freeze as the alpha and alpha bitch faced off. Ulrich did not move, and the only sound seemed to be Fenrir's small growls of warning, which Adina did not heed. She stepped closer, and bared her own teeth. Fenrir let out another snarl of warning as he went for his trousers, kicking them off as he forced the change, but Adina, expecting this, did something she almost never did—she did the same.

Ulrich chanced a glance around, but there was no one nearby to witness it. Adina, as far as Ulrich knew, was the only sub capable of changing at will. Even Harry, for all his weird quirks and unmatched mental strength could not do it, and before Adina, it had been strongly believed that only dominants could force the change.

Adina's wolf stood proudly in contradiction to that claim, growling in warning at her mate, unwilling to back off, despite the fact that all present knew that Fenrir could beat her in a fight if he chose to.

But he wouldn't—and Adina knew that. She had been Fenrir's mate for longer than Ulrich had been in the pack—forty or fifty years depending on who you asked. They were not without their friction, but everyone knew that Adina was with Fenrir because she chose to be, not because she _had_ to be. Like her mate, she was strong, and confident, and she never took anything lying down.

Ulrich felt deeply humbled that it was _him_ Adina chose to fight for, when Fenrir's thick skull would not be penetrated by mere words. Ulrich had wanted to try and avoid a confrontation, but clearly the alpha bitch had no such qualms, and snarled and snapped at her mate, but never once struck him.

Ulrich watched, his instincts churning as he observed the two alphas—Fenrir's ears were folded back and his lip was curled in a snarl. Adina, visibly deeply agitated was snapping at her mate, backing up and lurching forward as though she intended to attack him, but never once sank her teeth into the alpha. Part of Ulrich burned with shame at allowing this sub to defend him, regardless of her station, but the rational parts of his mind pushed this back, and did not allow it to show. Adina may be a sub, but she was the _alpha's_ sub. She was as powerful as any dominant, and in all Ulrich's years with the pack, he had never seen anyone with the balls to go against her.

At last, after what had felt like hours, Fenrir let out an angry snarl and transformed back into his human form. Adina followed suit, looking markedly pleased with herself, and smirked as she watched Fenrir turn to Ulrich, his lip still curled as he gazed at his beta.

“I wish I fucking knew why my subs are so bloody obsessed with your sodding happiness,” he snapped, and Ulrich bit his lip to keep himself from laughing at that. “First, Tavish pawns his arse to let you slip off with _him_ , then Adina...” he trailed off and growled again. “Fine, _fine_. I give up. You may see this...this... _Charlie_. But until he is changed, I do not want him in the territory, you hear?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ulrich replied, unable to keep the beaming smile from his face as he spoke. “And...thank you.”

Fenrir snatched up his trousers and stormed into the woods, while Adina, still chortling a little, scooped up her own clothes and pulled them on. When Ulrich was certain the alpha was too far to overhear, he turned to her and said, “thank you, Adina, you really didn't have to intervene, but I'm glad that you did.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed as she stepped forward and patted Ulrich's cheek. “You are like a son to me. Do you really think I would allow my mate to bar you from seeing such a nice young man? Tavish's perky little arse can only shift Fenrir's approval so far, I needed to do the rest. We both like Charlie, and you are more than welcome to sneak him into the territory to meet all of us, regardless what Alpha may think. We'll sneak Alpha off elsewhere, if necessary.”

“You know, I've always heard of people having a conniption, but I've never seen it,” Ulrich said conversationally. “Something tells me that we don't want to see it from someone like Alpha.”

“Oh, who knew our resident beta was such a coward!” she teased with a giggle, and wrapped an arm around Ulrich as she led him out to the main area of the territory. Ulrich gazed about, and he found Harry immediately, standing before his group of sub pups, and showing them how to stun someone. He smirked; he knew as well as Harry that according to Alpha he was supposed to be only teaching them _appropriate_ magic for subs, like spells to aid in childbirth, cleaning, cooking, or gardening spells, but clearly he was ignoring that particular command, for which Ulrich was grateful. Alpha was a good alpha, but he did have his ignorant streak.

_Which is sort of obvious, given how he hates Charlie for no reason,_ Ulrich thought with a soft smirk. His gaze shifted to a tree that was near to Harry, and he spotted Remus watching the lesson with his shoulder braced against the trunk. Even at a distance Ulrich could see the warm, loving smile upon the older wolf's face, and he did not miss the way Harry repeatedly turned back to eye his mate.

“I think I'm going to go write Charlie,” Ulrich said quickly, and Adina nodded, but stopped him with a hand at his wrist before he could rush away.

“The heart takes times to mend, Ulrich,” she said, “be honest with yourself, and with Charlie. One day, you will be able to look at Harry with just warmth, and no more pain.”

“I wish that day was today,” Ulrich replied with a heavy sigh as he glanced back towards the sub in question, “I want to be able to be just friends with him without all this...jealousy.”

“That day will come,” Adina reassured him, “just be patient with yourself.”

Ulrich nodded and hurried away, his stomach churning with guilt as he made it to his cabin and dug out some parchment and a self-inking quill.

Ulrich knew that he liked Charlie— _more_ than liked him, in fact.

_So why am I still pining so deeply over Harry?_ Ulrich wondered. _It's not fair to Charlie, and the last thing I want to do is hurt him._

With a heavy sigh, Ulrich plopped down on one of the benches and put quill to parchment.

 

_Dear Charlie,_ Ulrich wrote.

_Can I see you this week? Your spot or mine, it doesn't matter, I'd just like to see you._

 

Ulrich paused, and chewed on the end of his quill, uncertain how much he should put in writing. He returned the quill's tip to the parchment, and began to scribble again.

 

_I was cornered by Alpha (Fenrir to you) when I got back, and our pack Alpha Bitch, Adina, about ripped his head off when he tried to bar me from seeing you. I hope we can work out soon how to allow you into the territory, I know everyone would love to meet you, and I'm sure Harry would be happy to see you again._

_I just want to tell you, and we can talk more about this when we see each other next—_

_I like you, a lot._

_You are warm, and charming, and intelligent, and you make me feel like myself. Your smile makes me as giddy as a schoolboy, and your laugh makes me feel like I've been hit with the most powerful Cheering Charm. There are so many things that I like about you._

_But I still miss Harry._ Ulrich's stomach churned unpleasantly with guilt as he wrote down the short sentence. _He was special to me, not unlike you are to me now, but in a different way. I don't want to be like this, or make you feel like I am just settling with you, because I'm not. I want to keep seeing you, and I want to get over Harry, and I don't want to feel like this. I want a friendship with Harry, and a relationship with you—not the other way round. I am telling you this because I think I should be honest with you, and you deserve the truth of where my head is at. I don't want to build our relationship on lies or half-truths, and I care about you, I don't want to see you hurt._

_I want to see you again, and we can talk about this more in person, if you like._

_Ulrich_

 

Ulrich sent off the letter nervously with the pack's owl, and a few days later he received an unnervingly short letter in response.

 

_Meet me at your spot, Saturday, at noon._

_Charlie_

 

_~*~_

 

On Saturday, Ulrich obeyed the letter and met Charlie at his spot exactly at noon.

He found his human perched on the edge of the lake, his boots and socks off, and his feet dipped into the cool, clear water. When Charlie turned and spotted him, he offered the werewolf a warm smile and patted the grass next to him.

“Sit with me?” he asked, and Ulrich nodded stiffly. He mirrored Charlie, rolling up his jeans a little and he dipped his bare feet into the water, his toes twitching a little when a few minnows came out to nip at the digits curiously.

Charlie took Ulrich's hand in his own, drawing the werewolf's attention away from the water, and he saw that the human was smiling at him with the same warmth that he always did, and he felt his spirits lift a little.

“I thought it wouldn't be fair to you to say all this in writing,” Charlie explained, “I wanted to say it face-to-face.”

Ulrich swallowed thickly while he hid his fear behind a neutral mask. He braced himself for the fall while he forced himself to nod.

“I know how much Harry meant to you,” Charlie said, he squeezing Ulrich's hand gently as he spoke, “and I know that I came into your life not long after you two split up. I _get it_ , Ulrich. I'm not jealous of Harry, and after working with dragons for all of my adult life, I know you can't force a relationship with someone who doesn't want anything to do with you—I've had more than a few ornery dragons who were right shits no matter how you were with them. But...maybe I'm mad, and maybe I'm seeing things that aren't really there, but I _feel_ something with you. I can wait, I can help you move past him if that's what you want, but I won't force it, either. I just want you to know that I get it, and I like you _so_ much, and I want to help you, if you'll let me.”

Ulrich stared at Charlie as he spoke, his mouth open and dry with shock. He'd expected a break-up, not understanding, and at first, Ulrich had no idea what to say.

“I hope...” Ulrich paused, his gaze dropping to their intertwined hands, and the sight of them made his heart swell. “I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea with my letter,” he said as he lifted his gaze back to Charlie's smiling face. “I _want_ to be with you, and I like you a lot. I just don't want to build a relationship on lies, or forced feelings, or something, and I felt that it was necessary for you to know where I was at, so that we don't...well, _I don't_ muck this up.”

Charlie leant in, still smiling, and kissed Ulrich lightly. Ulrich returned it, his free hand lifting to touch Charlie's cheek, and both men smiled as the kiss deepened, and they moved closer together.

“I'll help you,” Charlie murmured as he kissed him again. “Anything you need, or want, I'll help. I _promise._ ”

 


	4. Part IV: Fooling Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Final update will be March 22nd. Keep this series in your subscriptions though, because the Tavish/Fenrir fic is still on the way, and it will be posted eventually. Thank you so much for your continued support of this series, I love writing about Ulrich so much, about as much as you guys love reading about him! :D

Part IV: Fooling Around

 

“I heard the most interesting rumour today,” a voice sing-songed, and Ulrich looked up to see Harry sauntering towards him with a broad grin on his face—and a number of purple marks on his throat that could easily rival Tavish.

“Yeah?” Ulrich asked as he quirked a brow at the sub. “And what rumour might that be?”

“Well...” Harry trailed off as he plopped down next to the dominant with a relaxed sigh and trained his gaze skyward, “Remus and I just got back from our weekly Weasley dinner, you see. While we were there, I heard that a certain dragon tamer who you have been seeing for the last few months is transferring his research from Romania to England.”

“Old news, Harry dear,” Ulrich replied with a warm chuckle. “Charlie told me he planned to tell his mum soon. Dare I ask what happened next, or should I ask what her reaction was to seeing you marked up like a certain _other_ sub that we both know?”

“Glamour Spells are a beautiful thing, sweetheart. And Arse Cream, for that matter.”

“So the Alpha versus Remus Fuckfest is still going strong, then?” Ulrich asked, and Harry snorted.

“It's all your fault, you know,” Harry said with a small smirk. “That day when you came back from your date and I said something about not being marked up like Tavish...”

“...and then Remus took that as a challenge, and when you stupidly relayed it to Tavish, he said something to Alpha, and here we are.”

“ _Let the games begin_ ,” Harry said sarcastically, and Ulrich snorted as he watched the sub let out a dramatic groan of frustration. “Actually, I'd be more than happy to see the games _end_ , I have no idea how much longer my arse can keep this up.”

“I've never known it to give out before,” Ulrich replied teasingly, and Harry laughed again.

“At this rate, my arse will be permanently stuck open,” Harry replied, “my dear mate needs to give it up, we can't out-fuck Alpha and Tavish.”

“What sort of can-do attitude is _that_?” a third voice interrupted, and Ulrich snorted as he watched Remus stride up to them and immediately he tugged Harry to his feet. “We are _by far_ much more amorous than Alpha and Tavish could _ever_ be. Shall I prove it to you again?”

“Remus,” Harry whined, and pressed a hand to his chest. “I love you, but this is getting ridiculous.”

Remus murmured something in response, softly enough that Ulrich didn't catch it, but he got the gist of it when Harry flushed bright red, rolled his eyes, and fingered a wave to Ulrich before he allowed his mate to escort him back to their cabin.

Or, knowing them, _most of the way_ back to their cabin.

Watching them together, Ulrich could not help but laugh and shake his head, his thoughts drifting back to Charlie. In particular, how delightful the last few months had been—although depressingly lacking in the shagging department, though Ulrich had yet to work out exactly _why_.

On the one hand, Charlie was rugged, and due to his work, used to the outdoors. But on the other, he seemed almost frustratingly particular about _not_ shagging in the woods, and refused to sneak back to his parents' house for a quick shag—or any sort of shag at all, for that matter.

And what with Fenrir being adamant about not letting Charlie into the territory while he was still human, they were stuck in a strange sort of holding pattern—except without the holding. And watching Tavish and Harry go at it with their respective mates like a pair of rabbits certainly wasn't helping matters.

 

Ulrich huffed, frustrated, horny, and a little bit confused. He had a feeling that something was going on with Charlie, but he wasn't certain what it was. Every time his family came up in conversation, Charlie's mood would sour, and though Ulrich could smell Charlie's arousal when they were close, Charlie refused to go further, claiming the time _wasn't right—_ whatever that meant.

_Maybe Charlie's just not ready to go further, which I doubt. He_ smells _ready to me,_ Ulrich mused idly as he lay in the grass—that was, until a certain marked up sub wandered over to him and sat down on his chest.

“Hey, Tavish,” Ulrich said with a small groan. “Your competition just wandered off with his mate.”

“Well, I'm still winning, so I'm not worried,” he replied with a lascivious grin. “I came over because I wanted to know how things are going with you and your prospective mate.”

“We've only been seeing each other for a few months, it's a bit soon for _that_ ,” Ulrich replied with a chuckle. “Mind getting off of me? It's three days 'til the moon, and I'd rather Alpha not get the wrong idea and go at me thanks to your cuddly disposition.”

“You dominants are all so _sensitive_ ,” Tavish replied with a chuckle as he slipped off of Ulrich and sat next to him, “especially during this time of the month. I mean, Fenrir's paranoia is cute, but Ulrich, you are _so_ not my type.”

“I hope not,” Ulrich replied with a small chuckle, “I'd much rather be _Charlie's_ type.”

“Aww, that's just adorable,” Tavish cooed sweetly, and Ulrich rolled his eyes. “Aren't you guys just a twosome of cuteness.” He paused, and arched a brow at the dominant. “Have you two shagged yet?”

“No,” Ulrich said sourly as he finally sat up, and he eyed the sub curiously when he did not seem particularly shocked by this admission. “What gave it away?”

“Your constipated expression made it sort of obvious,” Tavish answered dryly, and Ulrich snorted. “How come you haven't yet? Get on with it, would you?”

“No place to get it on, so to speak,” Ulrich said with a soft groan. “I forgot how... _delicate_ humans can be. He wants to do it in a proper bed, but Alpha won't let him in the territory, and for some reason, Charlie doesn't want to do it at his parents' house, either, even if we snuck in.”

“Maybe he's embarrassed of you,” Tavish teased, but immediately his expression fell when he saw the stricken look that crossed Ulrich's face. “Oh, fuck, Ulrich, I'm so sorry—it was a joke, a bad, _bad_ joke—”

“It's fine, Tavish, it's not like it hadn't crossed my mind—”

“—because you're so fucking fit, and strong, and could probably be a model if they wanted a werewolf model, and your pack nickname could easily be Tripod—”

“—why is my sub hitting on my beta?” a voice growled, and Ulrich rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he hated the days leading up to the moon.

“He's not, he's got chronic foot in mouth disease,” Ulrich said dryly, and Tavish snorted.

“He's not wrong,” Tavish said as he stood up and sauntered over to his mate, hips swaying, and rested his hands against Fenrir's chest lightly. “I _wasn't_ making a pass at another dominant, I'm completely yours, Alpha.”

Ulrich rolled his eyes, but thankfully Fenrir did not seem to notice as he dragged Tavish away, and he slumped back against the grass with a small grunt of frustration. _Everyone's getting shagged but me_.

~*~

A few days after the largely uneventful full moon, it happened.

The _it_ in particular was one that, embarrassingly, Ulrich had completely forgotten about, and he only recalled it when he saw a tiny, fluffy owl the size of a tennis ball whizz into the territory and make a beeline for the cabins. Remus and Harry came tearing out of the area roughly five seconds later, a half-unrolled scroll of parchment in their hands, and the alarm that Ulrich he saw upon both their faces sent him into immediate Protective Beta mode.

“What's happened?” Ulrich called, catching up to them with a few short strides, but he didn't dare try and cut them off—both Harry and Remus seemed to be in a fixed state of panic, and were liable to run over him if he tried.

“Hermione's gone into labour!” Harry cried, “it's _happening!_ ”

The effect that the words had on the pack as a whole was instantaneous. The subs began to titter excitedly, the dominants sat up straighter, and Ulrich felt awash with a strange sort of panic as he looked around, at a loss of what he should so.

“What can I do?” he called to Harry as he began to run again, heading with them for the Apparition Point.

“Go to the Burrow!” Harry called, “let everyone know what's happened!”

“But wouldn't Ron have already—and, he's gone.”

Ulrich stared at the empty space that had mere moments before contained two of the pack, and with a sigh and a shrug, he slipped his wand from his pocket and summoned a T-shirt from his cabin, then headed the rest of the way to the Apparition Point.

The idea of seeing Charlie at the moment was not exactly filling him with warm and fuzzy feelings when his mind was overwhelmed with so much doubt.

Had Charlie only been interested in him because he liked the idea of dating a _creature?_

Was sex simply one step too far for the human?

Was Charlie just another fickle human, only able to like him, and not _love_ him?

_And me, like an idiot, has fallen for another person who can't love me back,_ Ulrich thought miserably as he swallowed his anguish behind a neutral mask, and reluctantly turned on the spot.

_  
_

The moment Ulrich landed, he already wanted to go home.

He knew that he couldn't—he had to relay the message that Harry had asked him to, and once he was inside, chances were that he wouldn't leave for several hours. He didn't want to see Charlie right now, he wanted to go home and think things over. Logically, he knew that it would be better to bring it up with his human and talk it out like adults, but as pathetic as it was, he was afraid to. What if his worries were founded, and Charlie really _did_ view their relationship as a novelty, and not something to be taken seriously?

Ulrich heaved a morose sigh, arranged his face into something that he hoped was neutral as he stepped up to the front door, and knocked.

“Ulrich!” Molly cried the moment she opened the door, though she did not look particularly happy to see him, which struck him as a little odd. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here on Harry's behalf,” Ulrich explained, “Hermione's gone into labour, and he asked me to come and let you lot know that it's happened.”

“Oh...” she blinked and looked away from him and back to the rest of the inside of the house. “Dear, we have known for several hours, we're just waiting for Ron to let us know when it's time to come see the baby. Hermione...she won't let anyone else near her, apparently.”

“Then why—”

“—Ulrich!” Charlie suddenly cried, and raced past his mother to offer the werewolf an enthusiastic hug. Ulrich did not miss the way the Weasley matriarch's lips pursed as Ulrich's arms went on instinct to Charlie's waist as he held him close, despite his conflicting thoughts. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just asking myself the same thing,” Ulrich mused, and Charlie blinked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“Maybe I should go,” Ulrich said quickly when Molly's expression of disapproval did not change. “This is a family thing, after all, and I—”

“Oh, nonsense,” Charlie said as he waved his hand through the air dismissively. “Hermione is part of your pack, which makes her family to you; _of course_ you're welcome... _right, Mum?_ ”

This time, Ulrich _knew_ that he wasn't imagining things when he felt the temperature in the space drop by several degrees.

“Of course he's welcome,” Molly said stiffly as she eyed her son, clearly trying to silently signal something to him, but Ulrich had no idea what. “He is... _family_ , after all.”

Charlie ushered Ulrich inside before he could protest, and within moments he found himself in the sitting room with the rest of the Weasley family, all of whom were thankfully much warmer than Molly had been.

“Ulrich!” Arthur cried the moment he spotted him, “good to see you, good to see you! Come, sit. It's been a few hours, but the way Ron tells it, Hermione still has a way's to go before my next grandchild is born—”

“—you a betting man, Ulrich?” George interjected, “we've got fifty galleons saying it's a girl, and thirty-eight galleons saying it's a boy, and twelve knuts saying it's a lizard—”

“— _no one_ thinks it's going to be a lizard,” Ginny cut in, “you're making it up—”

“—quiet, Malfoy, no one's listening to you—”

“—that gets funnier and funnier every time I hear it, brother dear—”

“—enough, all of you,” Arthur interrupted with a chuckle, “give the lad some air.”

Ulrich smiled weakly, and approaching fifty he was hardly a _lad_ , but he allowed the remark to slide as he sat there with the others, but, curiously, without Molly.

“Where's your mum?” Ulrich murmured to Charlie casually, and he saw his human visibly stiffen. “I'd imagine she'd want to be here for the...festivities, so to speak.”

“Mum and I are having a...disagreement,” Charlie muttered back to him as he took Ulrich's hand. “It's nothing to worry about, but she's being very childish about it.”

“If it's nothing to worry about, why don't you tell me what it is?” Ulrich half-teased, but his faint smile fell when Charlie did not return it. “Seriously, is everything okay?”

“It's fine,” Charlie murmured as he reached out to put a hand on Ulrich's knee. “Mum's just...being Mum.”

~*~

Six hours later, at nearly midnight, Ron crashed the impromptu sleepover with a broad smile on his face as he burst out of the Floo while he cried, “ _it's a girl!_ ”

A round of cheers followed the pronouncement, and Molly broke out a bottle of sparkling wine while Ron continued to gibber.

“It was mental, Dad, and Hermione was _amazing_ , and broke my hand but the midwife mended it for me, and we're calling her Rose, and the godfathers _both_ cried when they held her, even though Remus couldn't really hold-hold her right now, and—” _  
_

“Hold on,” Arthur interrupted with a chortle as he regarded his son, “how many godfathers did you give this poor child?”

“Harry and Remus, of course,” Ron replied with a smile, and Arthur chuckled as understanding flooded his face, and he nodded.

“And what is the...erm... _breed_ of the child?” Molly asked as she passed out the wine.

It was as though a rush of cold air had flooded into the room, and Ron frowned at his mother.

“Does it really matter?” he asked her coldly, and Molly lifted her hands in mock surrender.

“I was just asking, Ronald!” she protested. “And you would do well to watch your tone with me, young man—”

“It _doesn't_ matter either way,” Arthur interjected quickly, “as long as little Rose is healthy, whether she is a werewolf, or a human, we'll love her all the same. She's our granddaughter, how could we _not_?”

“And our niece,” added Charlie, “it really doesn't matter what she is, Ron, don't you worry about that.”

“You lot can come by later today, in small groups, mind you, to see her,” Ron said, though he avoided his mother's eye as he spoke. “Hermione's pretty exhausted right now, so I don't want any visitors coming in to pester her. All right?”

“ _At least_ tell us you brought some pictures,” George interrupted, and Ron grinned sheepishly as he pulled out a wad of photographs from inside his robes.

The family passed around the pictures, some of Hermione holding baby Rose, others of the newborn in her bassinet, and others still of Ron and Hermione with their daughter, or Harry holding her, with Remus hovering in the background. Ulrich had seen enough werewolf births that the fact that Remus hadn't been allowed to hold her wasn't surprising, and it appeared as though he was the only one who had noticed—the Weasleys seemed too caught up in all the excitement to remark on it.

Ulrich smiled indulgently at the images of the little red-haired, blue-eyed baby, with a distinctive ring of gold around her irises—a wolf pup, if he ever saw one. Ulrich wasn't surprised, but he resisted the urge to comment on it with Molly close by. Something was up with the older woman, which struck Ulrich as odd, given that she had had no issue with Ulrich or werewolves in general when he'd been here with Harry some months earlier. He didn't understand it, but more than that, he didn't want to cause any more familial tension, and decided it best to keep his thoughts to himself.

For the moment, at least.

“Ron?” Ulrich asked when it looked like the new father was getting ready to leave. “Would you mind making copies of the photos, so that I can bring them back to show the pack?”

Grinning a little he nodded, and tapped the pictures once before he handed over the duplicates to the beta as he murmured, “Hermione said she promises to being Rose to the territory soon, to present her to Greyback.”

Ulrich nodded as he accepted the photos, “it is forbidden for a dominant to touch a pup while they are still feeding from their mother's breast. Usually, you don't have to present for a few months, so make sure she doesn't feel obligated to do it too soon.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Charlie asked as he sauntered over, his voice low so as to not be overheard. “Congratulations on your wolf pup by the way, baby brother. She's _adorable_.”

“Thanks, we're not sure when to tell Mum, you know, with how she's been lately,” Ron replied with a sheepish smile. “we're not ashamed, we just...I don't want to stress Hermione out while she's recovering, you know? Once she's back to her full strength I don't think she'll have any issues with taking Mum down a peg or two.”

“Or twelve,” Ulrich said, and both brothers snorted in agreement.

“I better get going,” Ron said distractedly as he looked back towards the fire. “Hermione and I will come by as soon as we can with Rose, she's been talking nonstop for the last few days about presenting her p—er, her _child_ to Greyback. She's getting really into all the werewolf traditions and things.”

“It's good,” Ulrich said, “it's part of her heritage now. You being so open to it is good too, it puts less stress on her.”

Ron's ears turned a violent shade of red at this as he bowed his head bashfully, and for a moment, Ulrich was distinctly reminded of Charlie. He reached for his companion, and the ginger beamed as he happily folded himself into a casual embrace as they exchanged a few parting words with Ron. At the same time, Ulrich pretended not to notice the distinctive frown of disapproval on Molly's face from across the room.

“I...erm...I better be going, too,” Ulrich said awkwardly, and he felt Charlie tense in his arms.

“What? Why?”

“I should get these photos back to the pack,” he said quickly, not looking at Charlie as he spoke, “they'll all want to know that Hermione made it through the birth safely.”

“Oh.” Charlie bowed his head a little. “Erm...all right. I'll walk you out.”

Arm in arm, the couple wove to the front of the house after Ulrich bade a quick goodbye to everyone, but they paused at the gate, where Charlie leant in to offer Ulrich a quick kiss.

“Can I see you? Soon?” Charlie asked, and Ulrich smiled at him weakly.

“Do you _want_ to see me?” Ulrich teased, while Charlie laughed as he kissed the werewolf again.

“Of course,” he replied at once, “I _always_ want to see you.”

“Does our usual Saturday date work for you?” Ulrich asked, “I'm sure with the new baby, you lot will be busy celebrating its arrival...except maybe your mum?”

“My mum will love that little sprog whether she is a werewolf, a human, or a giant squid,” Charlie said simply. “She's just...stuck in her ways. Don't worry, she'll get over it. She _hated_ Fleur at first...Bill's wife? And that wasn't just because she was part-Veela. I think the only reason Hermione gets a bit of a pass is because Mum knew her, you know...before.”

“Ah, so she has a blanket prejudice against creatures dating her children?” Ulrich asked, and Charlie frowned.

“ _I_ don't, I hope you know that,” Charlie said firmly, his eyes a little wide and pleading as he spoke. “I like you for you—and I'd _still_ like you if you were a regular human.”

Ulrich forced a small smile, and leant in to kiss Charlie lightly. Charlie responded with an enthusiastic kiss of his own, his arms reaching out to coil around Ulrich's neck, while Ulrich's dropped to Charlie waist, and drew him close.

“I'll see you on Saturday for our date, yeah?” Ulrich breathed, reluctantly pulling from the kiss before it got too heated. Charlie bit his lip and nodded.

“Pick me up at noon, we'll go to the sanctuary again,” Charlie replied, “ and I'll pack us some food.”

“Rabbit?” Ulrich asked, and Charlie answered with a wide grin. Ulrich pecked his human's lips one last time before he reluctantly let him go, and offered him a lazy half-wave as he strode past the house's warding and Disapparated.

 

~*~

 

The week passed by in a flurry of activity—primarily of Harry and Remus gibbering excitedly about their new goddaughter, and all the cute things she had been doing. No bigger than the length of Harry's forearm, with a tuft of red hair poking out of her little hats that she wore in most of the photographs, and dressed in little onesies in varying shades, she was indeed the very picture of cuteness.

The pack was ecstatic about their newest little member, and Jade cooed constantly about the _new best friend_ to her own little ones, and Ulrich had overheard her remind Harry at least five thousand times that Rose was welcome to come play with her quads whenever she wanted.

It was endearing, really, how the pack came together over this one tiny person who was barely six days old. She hadn't yet come to the territory with her mother, but no one faulted her for that—Harry brought so many stories with him from his and Remus's numerous visits that it hardly felt like they were missing anything, anyway.

 

On Saturday, Ulrich rose early with a tickle of excitement in the pit of his stomach at the prospect of seeing Charlie later that day. He washed and dressed, and at ten to noon he bid Alpha goodbye on his way as he headed for the Apparition Point, and Apparated to the Burrow.

The moment Ulrich landed, the first thing he was privy to was not the peaceful Weasley homestead he had expected, but shouting coming from inside. With his advanced werewolf senses he was able to hear the argument easily, and picked out both the voices of Charlie and Molly coming from inside.

 

_“This is not up for discussion, Mum!”_ Charlie cried, _“I'll see who I like, I don't_ care _if you disapprove of him or not!”_

_“I have no issues with Ulrich as a person,_ ” Molly retorted, _“I am thinking of your future, Charles. Ulrich is a fine man—werewolf, whatever you wish to know him as—but what sort of life could you_ possibly _have with him? The time for fooling around is over; you are thirty-one years old, and you need to find a nice witch or wizard to settle down with—”_

_“Fooling around?_ ” Charlie demanded, _“Fooling_ around _?!_ _Ulrich isn't some...some experiment, or fling! I care about him, when I think of the future, I want one with_ him!”

_“He is a werewolf, Charlie!”_ Molly shrieked. “ _Do you think I want to watch you go through what Harry went through for Remus? Bound to someone he had to_ learn _to love, instead of his happily ever after with Ginny? Their love can never be real, they were_ forced _together. Is that really what you want?”_

_“No one forced me to like Ulrich, I did that all on my own,”_ Charlie snapped back angrily. “ _Sod this, I'm out of here. Mum, send me an owl once you've stopped being such a bloody bigot.”_

_“How_ dare _you speak to me that way! Charlie, don't turn your back on me—come back here this instant!”_

Ulrich was gone before Charlie cleared the door. Ulrich heard a shout, but he couldn't tell from whom it had come. Realization of what he had been selfishly putting Charlie through blinded his senses, and his body shuddered with anguish as he spun on the spot, and vanished.


	5. Part V: Charlie's Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you guys so much for your interest in this little companion fic, and thank you for your patience with this final part! If you haven't yet read the main story in this series, there are a few background tidbits about how Charlie and Ulrich end up in the epilogue of New Moon Rising, if you'd rather not read the entire 400K series. Please enjoy this final part, and remember that a Tavish-centric side piece is in the works, although I have no idea when it'll be ready to go :P

Part V: Charlie's Choice

 

Over the last few months with Charlie, Ulrich had rather forgotten how difficult _going though the motions_ was, and how difficult _pretending he was just fine_ was, so that no one would worry.

Ulrich did what he had to do. He ate his meals, he did his duties, and he went to bed. No one spoke to him for longer than a few minutes at a time, and though he saw Remus and Harry often, neither of them approached him, for which he was grateful.

In that time, Ulrich tried to decide what to do about Charlie.

He wasn't a fool, and it was clear that Charlie still wanted to be with him, but at the risk of Charlie losing his mother? Ulrich wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Charlie wasn't young, but he was still a lot younger than Ulrich was—he didn't see the consequences of his actions as clearly as Ulrich did.

Ulrich could recall with ease the disaster that had been Remus trying to leave Harry _for his own good—_ but the circumstances, Ulrich theorized, were completely different. Charlie would not die if Ulrich tried to leave him—he would just break his heart.

Which, in a strange way, almost seemed worse.

 

“Hey,” Harry said, and Ulrich was pulled from his morose thoughts as he glanced up to see the sub walking towards him. There was a small smile on his face and and his head was ducked a little, as though he wasn't certain that Ulrich wanted the company.

“Hi,” Ulrich replied grudgingly, and encouraged by the response, Harry hurried forward to sit next to him.

“So...you haven't spoken to Charlie in nearly three weeks,” Harry hedged, and unfortunately Ulrich's disapproving, _I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it_ frown did not deter him. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Charlie misses you—he's freaking out.”

“Freaking out?” Ulrich asked with an arched brow, and Harry nodded. Curiously, the expression did not dissolve into one of Harry's familiar silly grins, but remained serious. It was a look Ulrich had not seen on Harry's face in a long time.

“He thinks he did something wrong—that he did something to offend you. He's really upset. He misses you.”

“You can tell him that it's not him—it's _me_.”

“I'm not telling him _anything_ ,” Harry snapped, and Ulrich glanced up sharply at the sub's tone, and found Harry glaring at him. “I'm not an owl, and you are an _adult_ , Ulrich. If you really, really want to break it off, and rid yourself of someone who makes you happier than I've ever seen you, then do it yourself. But I think you're being really stupid, Ulrich. Charlie _adores_ you. I know everything, 'cause Charlie told me how you overheard his argument with his mum, but believe me when I tell you that she _will_ get over it. She loves her children more than she loves to breathe, so you need to give her some _time,_ not do the self-sacrificing thing. _Trust me_ when I say that never works.”

“What's the _point_?” Ulrich demanded, and he grimaced a little at the lilt of hopelessness in his voice. “I don't want to put a strain on Charlie's relationship with his mum—I care about him, I don't want him to lose his family.”

“He _won't_ ,” Harry said firmly, “only _one_ person is being a lycanthrophobic bigot, and his mum _will_ get over it—she always does. She just needs some time. Are you really willing to sacrifice your happiness because his _mother_ doesn't approve of you?” he demanded, “as I recall, a certain grouchy alpha disapproved of me, and you still weren't willing to give up courting _me_.”

“...that was different,” Ulrich retorted sourly, unwilling to look at Harry as he said it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry scoff.

“No it's not,” he replied, “we can all see how much you care about Charlie. And, contrary to popular belief, it _is_ okay to take what you want from time to time—you won't be hurting Charlie by doing it. In fact, I've never seen him happier than when he's with you. Why would you do this to him?”

“I don't want to cause him any more problems,” Ulrich muttered, unwilling to look at Harry as he spoke. “I was so domineering with you, and look how that ended up—”

“—last time I looked in the mirror, I _wasn't_ Charlie,” Harry pointed out firmly. “I have no idea how he feels about the dominant aspect of werewolves, I _really_ don't, but you're not just hurting yourself by doing this, Ulrich, you're also hurting _Charlie_.”

Without waiting for Ulrich to respond, Harry stood up and stalked off.

 

~*~

 

Three weeks turned into five, and as the next full moon passed them by, an unfamiliar tawny owl began to make regular visits to the territory with letters for Ulrich. It showed up every few days, and though he accepted the letters, part of him was deeply afraid of what they might say, and he would immediately pitch them into the fire.

Harry was watching him intently when when he was cuddled up with his mate at the dinner circle. The sub always bore a disapproving expression when he stared at Ulrich, and the few times Ulrich spotted Harry _not_ staring at him, he was whispering with Tavish or Remus—or both. Ulrich supposed that Harry was debating with them about Charlie, but he didn't want to care enough to find out.

He needed to _forget_ Charlie, but despite Ulrich's best efforts, that was proving next to impossible.

The human's warm, sunny smile filtered into his thoughts constantly, the sight of his blue eyes highlighted by the sun, the warm and strong embrace of him— _his human, Charlie._

Ulrich missed him—and he hated that he didn't have the strength to simply contact him and tell him that it was over—despite the knowledge that ending it would put less stress on Charlie, at least where his mother was concerned, he couldn't do it. He couldn't completely let go of Charlie Weasley.

 

~*~

 

_Knock, knock_

The sound upon Ulrich's cabin door was sharp and insistent, with a demanding edge that made Ulrich jerk up from sleep so abruptly that it caused his head to spin. Had it been any day other than the day right after the full moon, Ulrich may have noticed that the scent clinging to the person on the other side was not one of the pack, but in his groggy, half-asleep state, Ulrich only realized who it was when he finally stumbled out of bed and opened the door.

“Charlie,” he said, his eyes widening a little, and the redhead crossed his arms as he glared at the werewolf. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, since you won't answer my post, I thought it might be best to come here myself and yell at you in person,” Charlie replied acidly, and Ulrich winced a little at the human's cutting tone of voice.

Charlie shouldered his way into the cabin, and the door swung shut behind him before Ulrich could say a word. Charlie continued to glare at Ulrich, while Ulrich bowed his head, not quite able to meet the human's eye. Ulrich's instincts radiated in him, even without the presence of some sort of mating bond, he felt compelled to make it right—calm his courting mate. However, the man in him still recalled the argument he'd overheard with absolute clarity, and he pushed down on his instincts, unwilling to let them control him.

“I saw you leave, you know,” Charlie said, his voice shaking a little as he stood there and continued to glare at Ulrich. “I thought you were a smart bloke, and that with a simple explanation you'd understand that my mum _would_ get over her prejudice in time, you just needed to be patient. What I _didn't_ expect was for you to pull a Remus and cut off contact with me _for my own good_. Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I'm some...some...silly little schoolboy who doesn't understand what he's getting into? Because—”

“—no,” Ulrich interrupted, his voice hollow as he kept his eyes down, “I don't think that...”  
  
“Then _why_?” Charlie demanded, his voice cracking a little. “I don't understand you. I know what I'm doing, I know werewolf law, and my sodding _brother_ is married to one of your pack. Do you think I don't get it? Because I know what I want, I don't care what my mother thinks of it, I'm old enough to make my own damn decisions—and what I want is _you_.”

Charlie took a small step forward, and Ulrich's gaze snapped up. Charlie froze, while Ulrich took in the sight of him.

Charlie, so strong and so confident, but in that moment he looked terribly vulnerable. His shoulders were quaking, his eyes were glimmering with unshed tears, and without saying a word, Ulrich could read him easily— _please don't leave me._

“Charlie...” Ulrich breathed, his own voice catching upon the lump in his throat, and he closed the distance between them in one long stride. “Gods above, I am _so_ sorry.”

Ulrich gathered Charlie into his arms at the same moment that Charlie threw himself at Ulrich, and the werewolf staggered back a little from the force of it, while his human clung to him desperately, as though he was afraid to let him go.

“I know what I'm doing,” Charlie murmured as he kissed him, “I know what I'm getting into,” he said as he kissed him again, and again. “I won't let you sacrifice this out of some sort of stupid sense of loyalty or whatever you want to call it. I _won't_ let you give up on me because of how my mum is acting.”

“I didn't want to hurt you—” Ulrich protested between kisses, and Charlie snorted derisively, cutting him off.

“It hurt more being away from you, you silly sod,” Charlie said, and Ulrich chuckled softly.

“Can I make it up to you then?” Ulrich asked, and Charlie smiled coyly, much to Ulrich's surprise. “Now?” he immediately blurted out as his eyes widened with surprise, “why?”

“Don't you want to?” Charlie asked, cocking his head to the side a little as he spoke, his hands snaking around to the back of Ulrich's jeans, where he toyed with the waistband idly, and Ulrich felt a wave of longing rush over him that nearly blinded him to everything else.

“No, I do, very much, but...up until now you've been kind of... _resistant_. So why now?” Ulrich asked, and Charlie smiled as though the reason were obvious, but Ulrich still felt lost.

“I wanted our first time to be special,” Charlie said, his fingers locking together at the small of Ulrich back while the ginger leant in to kiss Ulrich lightly. “I didn't want it to be a rushed romp in the woods, or a sneaky shag in my childhood bedroom while I was looking for a flat of my own, where we'd constantly have to worry about someone bursting in on us. I wanted it to be... _perfect_.”

“So how is sneaking into the territory any different than me sneaking into the Burrow?” Ulrich teased, and Charlie smirked at him.

“Well...I have a few accomplices, which you would have probably known about if you weren't so busy hiding away and sulking.”

“Accomplices...” Ulrich mused, and chuckled. “Let me guess—Tavish and Harry?”

“And Adina, and Jade, and Leticia, and Sadie, and Wu-Fei, and Remus” Charlie filled in with a small grin.

“So roughly half the pack subs and two doms helped you sneak into the territory? _Really?”_

“What can I say?” Charlie asked with another grin, “Bitches love me.”

Ulrich snorted into the crook of Charlie's neck while his human grinned and dragged him into another kiss before he began to urge him towards the bed.

“Come on,” Charlie purred teasingly, “you've been a right foul git to me these last few weeks; it's only right that you make it up to me.”

“Hmm,” Ulrich intoned as he followed Charlie's lead towards his bed, a new proper bed Remus had forced on him lat Christmas—and more than enough for two people. “And what did you have in mind?”

“Well...how would you feel about pinning me to your mattress and making sweet, sweet love to me until I forget all about our little spat?” Charlie asked as he began to trace the muscles on Ulrich's chest with his fingertip, making them twitch a little.

“Oh, baby...” Ulrich groaned, and he picked Charlie up, hands clamped around his arse while the human grinned and hooked his legs around Ulrich's waist as he pulled him up. He was significantly heavier than Harry had been, but certainly not enough to put any strain on Ulrich, and with a smirk, he carried his lover to bed. “I _love_ that idea.”

Charlie laughed as he leant in to kiss Ulrich, his hands cradling the werewolf's cheeks for a moment before he stretched his arms out to drape them over his shoulders, until Ulrich all but dumped his human onto the mattress, and immediately climbed on top of him with a soft growl.

“Come on,” Charlie purred as he smoothed his hands over Ulrich's bare shoulders and into his hair, tickling his scalp a little as the human tugged playfully on the strands, “ _dominate me_.”

“I'm going to take you so hard that you'll walk funny for a _week_ ,” Ulrich growled, “I promise.”

“Yes,” Charlie moaned as he arched up for a hard kiss, his entire deliciously muscled body gyrating until it ground up into Ulrich, showing him just how much Charlie wanted this.

Ulrich reached down, panting hard between kisses, and began to unbutton Charlie's shirt. He shivered a little beneath him, but did not protest as Ulrich thumbed open one button after the other, his mouth trailing from Charlie's lips to his jaw, before nipping and licking along his throat, eliciting a number of delicious moans from him as he lay there.

Ulrich had rather forgotten how wonderful it was to have a partner willingly submit to him. It was different than Harry— _better_ than Harry, in fact—and Charlie was the perfect submissive partner. He was not passive, but responsive and eager to let Ulrich lead without complaint, but if there was something Charlie didn't like—like when he moved to suck a mark onto Charlie's throat, he stopped him without hesitation, and Ulrich moved on.

When Ulrich thumbed open the last button on Charlie's shirt, Ulrich was gifted with a line of tanned, freckly skin, shiny with healed burns and scars over thick muscle, and sparse, wiry red hairs across his pectorals and down to the front of his trousers.

“Gods above, you're beautiful,” Ulrich breathed as he pushed the shirt off Charlie's shoulders, and his human tugged it off the rest of the way before he tossed it aside with a grin.

“So are you,” Charlie replied, “do you _always_ wander around your house half-naked?”

“Yes,” Ulrich answered, and Charlie's grin widened. “Our body heat is higher than a human's, so most doms in the territory don't bother with upper clothing, even in the winter.”

“That is _so_ hot,” Charlie moaned as he smoothed his hands over Ulrich's chest, tickling his skin again with his work-roughened hands. “Seeing you like this...there's something even more gorgeous about it than that nice jumper you wore on our first date.”

“Be fair, that was a _nice_ jumper,” Ulrich teased as he trailed his fingers down Charlie's front, stopping at the top of his jeans, where he began to toy with the top button.

“Yes, but seeing you in nothing but skin is much, _much_ nicer,” Charlie retorted as he mirrored Ulrich, and tugged on his jeans a little before he reached farther down to cup his straining erection.

“Want to see the rest of my skin?” Ulrich purred as he nipped at Charlie's collarbone, and the human nodded fervently.

“Yes, please,” he breathed, and Ulrich smirked a little as he backed up a little, but continued to straddle Charlie as he slowly unbuttoned his jeans, popping them open one at a time, while his human watched with wide, hungry eyes.

“Like what you see, pet?” Ulrich purred as he finished unbuttoning his trousers, giving Charlie a nice view of the dark thatch of hair that preceded his cock, while he hooked his thumbs in sides of his waistband, and smirked at him coyly.

“Oh, yeah,” Charlie breathed, “every bit of you is completely gorgeous—I feel so lucky.”

“Well, you're about to get lucky—” Ulrich began, and Charlie let out a loud snort, stopping Ulrich short. “What?”

“Your lines are kind of awful,” Charlie teased, “don't you have any better chat-up lines? I can feel my cock practically _wilting_ at that one.”

“Oh, baby, your legs must be tired because you've been running through my head _all_ day,” Ulrich retorted, and Charlie snorted into the crook of his arm to avoid spraying Ulrich with spit.

“Okay, that was worse.”

“Are you worried it'll be like a seventeen-sickle cone?” Ulrich asked with a sly grin. “A few good licks and the cream filling will be gone?” Charlie barked another laugh.

“Enough,” Charlie said between bouts of laughter, “it's a really good thing you're pretty, because your lines are _terrible_.”

“You love it,” Ulrich retorted as he leant back in to offer Charlie a gentle kiss, and his human responded with a wide smile.

“I love _you_ ,” he said, and Ulrich felt his heart swell with joy as they kissed again, Charlie nudging his thigh gently with his knee to spur Ulrich on, and their kiss deepened while Charlie's hands trailed down Ulrich's sides, and began to slowly tug his jeans off.

“I love you too,” Ulrich replied without hesitation, and Charlie's smile softened to something more loving, and less lustful.

“I feel so lucky that you gave me a chance, you know, after everything,” Charlie murmured, and Ulrich smiled as he leant in to kiss him again.

“I feel so lucky that you're so persistent, and Harry wouldn't let me turn you down,” Ulrich replied, and Charlie laughed out loud.

“Remind me to send him a fruit basket or something,” he teased as he leant up to offer Ulrich another kiss.

In between warm, sweet kisses, Charlie helped Ulrich out of his jeans the rest of the way, and Ulrich turned his attention to Charlie, and he did the same.

“Holy wow,” Charlie murmured, something of a silly grin on his face as he moved to cup Ulrich's jutting erection, making him shiver, “Harry wasn't kidding when he said you were hung like a Hippogriff.”

“You discussed my cock size with my ex?”

“He may have mentioned it when he was trying to convince me to sneak into the territory to come see you,” Charlie replied with a wry smile, “honestly, I think this sex competition thing he's doing has permanently addled his mind.”

“It's gone to his head, that's for sure,” Ulrich agreed, and they both laughed at the double entendre.

“Forget him,” Charlie urged, his voice soft and devoid of any sort of venom. “He doesn't know what he's missing.”

Ulrich wanted to respond, though he had no idea what to say in answer to such a statement. The gentle look in Charlie's eyes told him that he hadn't meant the remark to be malicious, and perhaps was just an attempt to draw Ulrich back to the present moment, and what was about to transpire. In truth, he hadn't really been thinking of Harry at all, and did not long for him—not anymore.

He wanted _Charlie_.

“He's forgotten, pet,” Ulrich finally said as he leant in for another kiss, “the only one I want is you.”

Ulrich felt his face flush at the silly line, and Charlie giggled a little, but did not interrupt their snogging, instead drawing Ulrich closer as their kisses became more heated, and he trailed his hands up and down Ulrich's sides, tickling his skin, before at last settling on his arse and giving it a firm, pointed squeeze.

“Want you...” Charlie breathed, “want you _in_ me.”

Ulrich growled, a low rumble deep in his throat, and he rotated his hips, causing their twin erections to rub together, eliciting a soft whine of longing from Charlie.

“Want me to take you?” Ulrich murmured softly, “want me to _mark_ you? Mark you and make you mine?”

“N-not where people can see, please,” Charlie panted, “I—I...”

Charlie trailed off, and Ulrich silenced him with a kiss.

“Shh, pet, it's all right. If you don't want me to, I won't.”

“I want _you_ , but I just...”

“Hey, it's all right,” Ulrich murmured, and kissed him again. “Relax, I'm not cross.”

“But...” Charlie paused and bit his lip. “It's okay if it's not where people can see it...”

“You don't sound very sure, pet,” Ulrich pointed out, and Charlie's ears tinted a distinctive pink.

“Only because I can't remember werewolf etiquette when it comes to hickeys,” Charlie mumbled, his ears turning a darker red as he glanced away from Ulrich.

To the explanation, Ulrich chuckled softly as he began to understand where Charlie's anxiety was coming from. He offered him another kiss, and ran his hand across his tense shoulder. He rubbed the hard muscle gently, distracting Charlie with warm, tender kisses, but when he didn't relax, Ulrich tried for a more verbal tack instead.

“The moon has barely begun to wane, and a human-werewolf bond can only be enacted at the half moon with an act of protection—when the moon is waxing. The half moon of a waning moon means nothing,” Ulrich reminded him softly, and he offered Charlie another kiss. “There is no other way to bind a human and werewolf together, and it is not something I'd ever want from you if you do not want it too. It is very permanent, and a very serious matter. What happened to Harry and Remus was a fluke, and I never had much desire to do it with anyone—it seemed like too much could go wrong. A mark merely tells others that you belong to someone, like a wedding ring, and it fades with time. It means no one else with knowledge of werewolf culture will touch you—that is, unless the real reason is what your mother might say if she sees it.”

Ulrich's tone shifted from serious to teasing as he finished, and Charlie's tense little smile softened a little as he asked, “am I really that transparent?”

Instead of answering properly, Ulrich merely grinned as he kissed him again, crushing their bodies together and erasing any space between them.

Ulrich's fingers trailed through Charlie's hair as they kissed, their lips parting on instinct as they deepened the kiss.

“U-Ulrich...” Charlie panted, his voice escaping him as little more than a soft whine as he arched his hips and broke the kiss at the same time, grinding his erect cock into Ulrich's groin, while he bared his throat in a show of complete submission. “Just...don't—”

“It's all right, pet,” Ulrich murmured as he planted a soft kiss on the side of Charlie's neck, “I won't.”

“I want to see you while we make love,” Charlie breathed, his eyes shining a little as he smiled up at Ulrich, and he parted his legs a little. “I don't want it to feel like...like just a shag, you know?

“I understand,” Ulrich replied as he nodded, “just relax, I'll take good care of you.”

“You better, after that stupid self-sacrificing stunt...”

“How many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry?” Ulrich asked with a chuckle while he moved his hands to Charlie's thighs, and spread them a little farther apart.

“At least a few hundred more,” Charlie replied with a faint smirk. “I was frantic—ask anyone.”

“Oh, right then, I'll go talk to Harry right now—” Ulrich smirked as me moved to stand up, and Charlie let out a yelp as he lurched forward and grabbed Ulrich's wrist, stopping him short.

“Don't you _dare_ leave me like this,” Charlie said, and Ulrich's smirk softened as he leant in to offer his human a kiss.

“I won't, I promise,” Ulrich said, and Charlie arched up to kiss him again, while Ulrich pawed at his bedside table until his hand fell upon the little glass jar of lubricant.

“When was the last time you bottomed?” Ulrich purred as he parted Charlie's legs again, grinning at his human while he unscrewed the lid of the little jar, and curiously, Charlie's ears went red again. “What?”

Charlie mumbled something, clearly something he had not fully intended Ulrich to hear, but with his advanced auditory senses, Ulrich picked it up easily— _I've never bottomed before_.

“What, never?” Ulrich blurted out, and bit his lip to swallow a laugh as Charlie's face darkened to match his hair. “Seriously?”

“Yes, all right?” he cried out, his voice halfway between angry and embarrassed. “I'm a bottom _virgin_ , at _thirty._ You're...you're...”

Ulrich's mouth went dry, and despite his vague hope that he was hearing things, but Charlie continued, certifying that Ulrich was not, in fact, misunderstanding.

“...you're sort of my first.”

“But...you've been with men before, haven't you?”

“Does groping in the broom cupboard count?”

“Charlie,” Ulrich murmured, dropping the lubricant as he moved to caress the human's flushed cheek, “why didn't you tell me before?”

“It's a bit embarrassing, being a bottom virgin at such a late-in-life age...”

“Thirty is hardly late in life,” Ulrich teased, and kissed him again. “Besides, being a virgin is nothing to be ashamed of—”

“— _bottom_ virgin _,_ ” Charlie corrected, and Ulrich arched a brow at him, inviting him to explain. “I've topped before, but I've never done it the other way round.”

“Well, either way, I don't think less of you for it,” Ulrich said with a small smile. “I've _never_ bottomed either, so...”

“Oddly, that does make me feel better,” Charlie said with a small smile. “I was...well, a bit nervous because you're gigantic, but...”

“If it helps, I've never hurt any of my partners,” Ulrich said, and leant in to kiss him once more. “And I'm not about to start with you.”

“Okay,” Charlie agreed readily, but his voice escaped him as a sigh, like he had been holding his breath. “I mean, I came here, you know, planning to do this, but it's still...a big step.”

“I'll go as slow as you need,” Ulrich said, and leant in to kiss him gently. “And if you want me to stop, do you know what you need to do?”

“Er...tell you to stop?”

“Exactly.”

Charlie laughed weakly, and his smile broadened as Ulrich leant in to kiss him gently. Charlie kissed him back eagerly as Ulrich picked the lubricant back up, and began to open the jar.

“Ready?” Ulrich breathed, and Charlie inclined his head in a small, uncertain nod.

“Y-yes,” he replied, and Ulrich chuckled a little as he dipped a finger into the clear gel.

“We'll start with a finger, all right? Just relax, pet, I won't hurt you.”

“I know you won't,” Charlie replied, this time with a more self-assured tone to his voice. “And I've been wanting to do this for ages, but...it's still a big step.”

“It is,” Ulrich agreed as he offered his human lover another gentle kiss. “I won't hurt you, love, I swear. Just relax, and spread your legs for me.”

Charlie sighed, like he was bracing himself for this exact moment, and adjusted his position on the bed. He spread his legs, and Ulrich bit his lip with both excitement and apprehension as he brought his slicked-up finger to Charlie's virgin hole.

“Ready?” Ulrich asked, and Charlie immediately nodded.

Ulrich pressed his fingertip against Charlie's entrance, and despite going quite gently, he heard Charlie hiss, and saw his face contort with pain as the digit began to breach his entrance.

“Just relax,” Ulrich coaxed as he paused, and reached up to rub the centre of Charlie's chest, given that from his current position, he couldn't reach his shoulder. “If you're too tense, it'll hurt more.”

“Sorry,” Charlie breathed, “I want to, I do, but I'm still nervous.”

“It's okay,” Ulrich said with a small, reassuring smile. “Take a breath, and let me know when you're ready to keep going.”

Charlie nodded, and with his bottom lip caught between his teeth, he did as he was told and breathed slowly, before nodding his head again, inviting Ulrich to continue.

Ulrich slid in slowly, stopping when he was buried in to the knuckle. Charlie was panting a little, but did not appear to be in any pain, and after a moment, Ulrich added a little extra lubricant as he moved the digit, getting his human used to the sensation slowly.

“You ready for another finger?” Ulrich murmured after a moment, and he smiled a little when Charlie immediately nodded. He lubricated the second finger and slid it in just as slowly, freezing his movements when Charlie's breath would hitch, signalling to Ulrich that he was in pain.

When the second finger was in all the way, Ulrich paused again, and offered Charlie a small smile.

“You doing all right?” he asked, and Charlie nodded.

“Yeah. Feels a bit weird, but not bad,” he replied, and Ulrich chuckled a but as he leant up as far as he could to offer Charlie a kiss, and the ginger bowed forward, enabling their lips to meet.

“It'll get better, I promise,” Ulrich murmured, and Charlie smiled warmly at him with unwavering trust in his eyes.

Ulrich scissored the two digits, stretching his lover slowly, and beneath him Charlie shuddered and squirmed, sweat dotting his forehead as his cocked twitched in obvious want, and Ulrich smirked to himself, pleased with the results.

“Feel good, pet?” Ulrich teased, and Charlie answered with a moan.

“Gods, why did I wait so long for this?” Charlie mumbled, and Ulrich snorted.

“I'm kind of glad you did,” Ulrich said as he began to lubricate and add a third finger, “I like the idea of being your first.”

“I like the idea of it too,” Charlie replied, panting a little as he shifted, causing Ulrich's third finger to sink in deeper, more quickly than he had intended. However, instead of a vocalization of pain, Charlie moaned again.

“You think you're ready?” Ulrich asked softly, and Charlie immediately nodded, his gaze never once wavering as he stared intently at his lover.

“Yeah,” he breathed, “I'm ready.”

Smiling, Ulrich retracted his fingers from Charlie's arse and spelled them clean before he slicked up his own cock with the lubricant and lined himself up with Charlie's prepared hole. His human was biting his lower lip, flushed with arousal but still displaying clear nervousness, and Ulrich made a mental note to go _slow_.

Taking his time, Ulrich gently pressed his cock to Charlie's entrance. After a moment of resistance, the head popped inside, and Ulrich shuddered with pleasure, while Charlie, in contrast, hissed in pain.

“Just relax, love, if you tense up it will hurt more,” Ulrich reminded him consolingly. “This is a moment in time, I promise you, it doesn't last.”

“I trust you, but...you feel _massive_ ,” Charlie breathed, and Ulrich chuckled softly as he bowed forward to offer his human a gentle kiss.

“Thank you, pet,” Ulrich teased, and Charlie laughed softly.

Ulrich continued to inch inside him, slowing and stopping whenever Charlie showed pain or told him to stop, and by the time he had sheathed himself fully inside of his human lover, Charlie's face was shining with sweat, and his chest was heaving from the exertion.

“It's in,” Ulrich breathed, shaking a little as he strove to stay still and not fuck Charlie into oblivion quite yet. “How do you feel?”

“Like you shoved a huge beater's bat up my arse,” Charlie retorted, and Ulrich chuckled softly. “But not in a bad way, just...different. Good different, though.”

“Ready to keep going?”

“Yeah.” Charlie nodded as another smile graced his face, and Ulrich mirrored it, his heart swelling at the unabashed trust he saw in his human's eyes—it was both heartening and humbling all at once.

Ulrich rotated his hips slowly, pulling out and sliding back in, adding a little more lubricant as he went, and Charlie shuddered beneath him as he tried to move with him, but he was clearly unused to being on the bottom, and moved awkwardly as he tried to find a rhythm.

Ulrich did not miss the uncertain, self-conscious look that began to cross his lover's face, and in an effort to reassure him that he was doing fine, Ulrich leant forward to kiss him gently. Charlie moaned into the kiss, and reached up to hold onto Ulrich, his legs locking at the small of his back at the same time as he arched up, and Ulrich thrust back in, making him groan.

“That's it,” Ulrich breathed encouragingly, “feel good?”

“Yeah,” Charlie replied, “s'good.”

Ulrich smirked a little, pleased with himself as he built up a rhythm. Charlie gradually grew more comfortable with bottoming, and if the noises escaping past his lips were any indication, began to enjoy it, too. He rocked into Ulrich's thrusts, crying out with pleasure, their slick bodies sliding seamlessly against one another as they bestowed sloppy kisses, whimpers, moans, and grunts of pleasure slipping from them as they moved.

Ulrich shifted again, adjusting his position, and he smirked to himself when Charlie cried out suddenly, his eyes widened, and he seemed to momentarily lose control of all his basic motor functions as Ulrich's cock brushed his prostate.

“Merlin's _tits_ , do that again!” Charlie cried, and Ulrich snorted as he leant in to kiss him again.

“With _pleasure_.”

Ulrich thrust into Charlie again, shedding the last of his inhibitions as he set a punishing pace, the human's body jerking upon the bed with every thrust. Charlie was squirming and moaning loudly, and Ulrich was lost to the sweet sensation of pounding into his human, harder and harder the longer it went on. Charlie did not seem to mind the forcefulness, but instead seemed to deeply enjoy it. He enjoyed it so much in fact that he found his release first, splattering cum over his own abdomen while Ulrich bowed forward on instinct alone and bit down on Charlie's clavicle. He managed to curb his instinct just enough to avoid seriously hurting his human, but not enough to stop him from breaking the skin, and tasted his blood.

_Dominant_.

Well, wasn't that interesting.

_Fenrir is going to kill me for wanting a dominant mate,_ Ulrich thought hazily as he lapped at the tiny nick to stem the bleeding, while he shuddered and froze as he came.

Panting hard, Ulrich slowly slid his softening cock from Charlie's arse, and slumped at his lover's side, while Charlie wrapped an arm around him and drew him close.

“That was... _incredible_ ,” Charlie whispered between deep breaths, “I don't care what it says about me, if you fuck me like that every time, I'll never want to top ever again.”

“You be my Keeper, I'll be your Catcher?” Ulrich teased, and Charlie laughed as he nuzzled the crook of Ulrich's neck in a very wolflike move.

“Yes, please,” he said, and shifted up a little to kiss him. “I...I think I love you.”

“After how you stormed the territory with half the pack on your side, I think you're a little more sure of your feelings than _that_ ,” Ulrich pointed out, and Charlie laughed again, his face flushing a little as he offered Ulrich a sweet smile.

“All right, yes, I love you, Ulrich Rahn. I love you more than anything else, and if you ever leave me like that again, I'll beat you to death with a shovel.”

“I love you too, Charlie Weasley,” Ulrich teased as he leant in for a kiss, one which Charlie happily returned, his large hands moving to cup Ulrich's cheeks as he cuddled close, the wide smile never leaving his face as he clung to his werewolf.

Ulrich did not know what the future would bring. He was no Seer, and if his past love life was any indication, he did not know whether his relationship with Charlie would bring happiness, or was doomed to fail.

What he did know for certain was that whatever life decided to throw at him, he had to hold on to Charlie as long as the human would allow. And if that led to a turning, or a mate-bond, or nothing changing at all, Ulrich knew that Charlie was not just willing to endure it all for Ulrich, but Ulrich, in turn, was willing to do anything for his mate.

Ulrich settled in, musing over everything with a smile on his face, and as Charlie fell asleep he drew his human closer, and planted a kiss on his temple.

“Ulrich?” Charlie mumbled, one eye cracking open as he gazed blearily up at his werewolf.

“Hmm?”

“What am I?”

“What do you mean?”

“You tasted my blood, I felt you break the skin,” he said as he sat up a little, but was still curled up in Ulrich's arms, clearly unwilling to put distance between them. “I know I won't be turned from that, but I know you'd be able to tell what sort of werewolf I'd be if I decided to do... _it_.”

“Ah,” Ulrich said, and moved in to kiss Charlie again. “If you were turned, you'd be a dominant like me.”

Charlie smirked knowingly at that, and leant in for another kiss, a little rougher this time, but sloppily from his sheer exhaustion. Ulrich chuckled as he kissed him back, relaxing a little as Charlie clambered on top of him.

“That's pretty uncommon in werewolf culture, isn't it? I mean, two dominants together?”

“A bit,” Ulrich agreed, “does that bother you?”

“Nope,” Charlie replied, and offered him a grin. “It's just good to know I'll drive your alpha as barmy as a certain meddling sub we both know.”

Ulrich laughed in agreement as they both settled back in the bed, and he kissed his human again, more gently this time.

“I don't care if Alpha blasts steam out of both ears and pitches the world's biggest hissy fit over me seeing a potential dominant. I won't let you go, not again.”

Charlie's grin softened to a warm smile.

“Good.”

 

-Fin


End file.
